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As a follow up to my article about the basics of mutual funds I wanted to start looking at the performance of specific funds. Periodically here at Grow Your Funds I will examine some top performing mutual funds, funds that you might be interested in looking into for future investments. It will be my policy to stay away from funds that I own in my personal account as well as funds that are no longer open to new investors. I will break down the mutual funds by category. We will start today with 5 top large cap value mutual funds.

The first mutual fund on the list is the Excelsior Value & Restructuring Fund (UMBIX). The fund ranks in the top 4% of all large cap value funds in the past 5 years, and in the top 8% of all large cap value funds in the past 10 years. The fund has no loads, and has an impressive expense ratio of just 1.05%. This funds consistent top performance earned it a spot in the top 5 large cap value mutual funds.            

Next on the list is the Dreyfus Premier Strategic Value Fund (DRGVX). The fund ranks in the top 1% of large cap mutual funds over a 5 year period, and has had the same primary fund manager since 2003. The expense ratio of the fund stands at a very reasonable 0.92%. The fund is open to investors with a minimum initial investment of just $1,000.

The third mutual fund on this list is the Schneider Value Fund (SCMLX). The fund ranks in the top 10% of all large cap value funds in the past three and one year periods. The fund has a very acceptable expense ratio of just 0.85%, and comes with no load. The downside to this fund is that the initial investment stands at $20,000, so those with smaller amounts are less likely to look toward this fund.

Fourth on the list of top large cap value funds is the Riversource Diversified Equity Income Fund (IDQYX). This fund has fallen in the top 10% of large value funds in the 10 year period, 5 year period, 3 year period, and 1 year period. The results have spoken for themselves with this fund. The expense ratio is a very reasonable 0.93%. The fund is open to new investors with a minimum initial investment of just $2,000.

The final of the top 5 large value funds is the Fidelity Equity Income Fund (FEQIX). This fund has the lowest expense ratio of the funds that have been mentioned here, at just 0.65%. The fund has had steady returns above the category average, though not quite as impressive as some of the other funds on this list. A very appealing part of this fund is the fact that the same manager has been in control for 14 years now.

These five mutual funds are each on this list because they have a great track record and low expense ratios. If you are looking for large cap mutual funds, do some research on these as you decide where to put your money. Do not invest in these funds just because I have listed them, but do the research on your own. If you believe you have found other large cap value funds that are better than these, let me know. Keep an eye out for great places to put your money!

If you are interested in viewing the article about the top 5 large cap growth funds as well click here.