Investors interested in maintaining exposure to both equity and fixed income securities may consider investing in balanced mutual funds. Also, these mutual funds are believed to provide greater returns than pure, fixed income investments, while maintaining a low volatility level.
The proportion of equity and fixed income investments in these funds may also vary in response to market conditions. While managers may increase the share of fixed income securities during a downturn to avoid losses, the share of equity securities may be increased in a bullish market. Hence, these funds are expected to harness the inherent strengths of both classes of investments.
Below we share with you three top-ranked balanced mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.
Dodge & Cox Balanced Fund DODBX seeks principal conservation, regular income and an option for long-term growth of income and principal. The fund invests in a portfolio of equity and debt securities. Usually, the fund will invest a minimum of 25% and maximum of 75% of its net assets in equity securities. DODBX has returned 10.4% in the past three years.
DODBX has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared with the category average of 0.82%.
LKCM Balanced Fund LKBAX aims for current income and capital appreciation over the long term. The fund primarily invests in equity and fixed income securities. The fund mostly aims to invest in securities of high quality companies that have certain characteristics such as the ability to provide excess cash flows, high profitability levels and strong market share positions etc. LKBAX has returned 9.6% in the past three years.
As of April 2019, LKBAX held 145 issues, with 1.54% of its assets invested in Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) Class A.
Fidelity Balanced Fund FBALX aims for income and capital growth that is on par with reasonable risk. The fund usually invests a majority of its assets in stocks and other equity securities and the rest in bonds and other debt securities. FBALX returned 9.8% in the past three years.
Steven Kaye is one of the fund managers of FBALX since 2008.
To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all balanced mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.
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Zacks Investment Research