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It is never too late to invest in mutual funds for retirement. As such, if you plan to invest in some of the best funds, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can provide you with valuable guidance.

How can you tell a good mutual fund from a bad one? It's pretty basic: if the fund is diversified, has low fees, and shows strong performance, it's a keeper. Of course, there's a wide range, but using the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we've found three mutual funds that would be great additions to any long-term retirement investors' portfolios.

Let's take a look at some of our top-ranked mutual funds with the lowest fees.

FMI Common Stock Institutional

(FMIUX): 0.84% expense ratio and 0.79% management fee. FMIUX is a Mid Cap Blend mutual fund, and usually features a portfolio with stocks of various styles and sizes, allowing for diversification within a strategy that focuses on mid cap companies. With annual returns of 16.25% over the last five years, this fund is a winner.

BlackRock Basic Value I

(MABAX). Expense ratio: 0.57%. Management fee: 0.42%. MABAX is a Large Cap Value mutual fund, which invests in stocks with a market cap of $10 billion of more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. This fund has managed to produce a robust 14.26% over the last five years.

American Funds Growth and Income Portfolio R2

(RGNBX): 1.07% expense ratio and 0% management fee. RGNBX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, and these mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a "buy and hold" mindset. With a five-year annual return of 9.99%, this fund is a well-diversified fund with a long track record of success.

We hope that your investment advisor (if you use one) has you invested in one or all of the top-ranked mutual funds we've reviewed. But if that isn't the case, it might be time to have a conversation or reconsider this vitally important relationship.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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