Mutual funds are often the best choice for meeting the needs of your retirement or other long-term accounts. The question is: Which ones are right for your portfolio from the nearly 8,000 mutual funds available? Our report on the seventh annual IBD Best Mutual Funds 2022 Awards can make your search for a fund a lot easier.
Each award-winning fund has beat its benchmark — the S&P 500 for stock funds — for the past one, three, five and 10 years, showing it outperformed in recent market conditions as well as over the longer term. Among funds at least 10 years old, that's a feat only 18% of funds achieved.
IBD compared the performance of 3,673 funds that have been around for at least 10 years and found that 677 beat their benchmark index in those four periods. Funds in 11 categories qualified, including growth stock mutual funds, small-cap funds, bond funds and index funds. No value funds met the performance criteria.
For tips on using these lists and to learn more about the funds, read our IBD Best Mutual Funds 2022 Awards special report. And read our monthly ETF and Mutual Funds special reports for updates throughout the year.
Best Mutual Funds Awards By Category
The overview list below shows the the top five winners in each category based on their 10-year average annual returns. All returns are as of Dec. 31, 2021. But remember, all the funds that earned Best Mutual Funds Awards are worth reviewing. Be sure to click on the category links to see all the Best Mutual Funds Awards winners. That way, you can see if a fund that you already own made the cut, or if funds available to you in your 401(k) plan made the roster of winning funds.
Best U.S. Diversified Mutual Funds
View All 31 Best U.S. Diversified Stock Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average total return
5-year average total return
10-year average total return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: S&P 500
28.71%
26.07%
18.47%
16.55%
Baron Partners Retail
BPTRX
31.39
67.92
43.58
27.89
Large Growth
No
Oberweis Micro-Cap
OBMCX
53.38
34.44
22.20
19.56
Small Growth
No
Goldman Sachs Large Cap Gr Insghts Instl
GCGIX
29.81
30.54
22.46
19.01
Large Growth
No
Columbia Large Cap Growth V
GAEGX
28.72
32.83
23.45
18.80
Large Growth
Yes
Glenmede Quant US Large Cap Gr Eq
GTLLX
33.20
28.66
20.94
18.78
Large Growth
No
Best Growth Stock Funds
View All 25 Best Growth Stock Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: S&P 500
28.71%
26.07%
18.47%
16.55%
Baron Partners Retail
BPTRX
31.39
67.92
43.58
27.89
Large Growth
No
Oberweis Micro-Cap
OBMCX
53.38
34.44
22.20
19.56
Small Growth
No
Goldman Sachs Large Cap Gr Insghts Instl
GCGIX
29.81
30.54
22.46
19.01
Large Growth
No
Columbia Large Cap Growth V
GAEGX
28.72
32.83
23.45
18.80
Large Growth
Yes
Glenmede Quant US Large Cap Gr Eq
GTLLX
33.20
28.66
20.94
18.78
Large Growth
No
Best Blend Funds
View All 6 Best Blend Mutual Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: S&P 500
28.71%
26.07%
18.47%
16.55%
JHanco*ck Fundamental All Cap Core I
JFCIX
30.15
31.38
19.93
17.69
Large Blend
No
Nationwide BNY Mellon Dyn US Core R6
MUIGX
30.29
28.79
21.79
17.32
Large Blend
No
JPMorgan US Large Cap Core Plus I
JLPSX
29.20
28.37
18.98
17.05
Large Blend
No
Federated Hermes MDT All Cap Core IS
QIACX
31.22
26.62
19.10
16.95
Large Blend
No
JPMorgan US Sustainable Leaders I
JIISX
31.00
26.79
18.67
16.88
Large Blend
No
Best Large Cap Funds
View All 27 Best Large-Cap Stock Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: S&P 500
28.71%
26.07%
18.47%
16.55%
Baron Partners Retail
BPTRX
31.39
67.92
43.58
27.89
Large Growth
No
Goldman Sachs Large Cap Gr Insghts Instl
GCGIX
29.81
30.54
22.46
19.01
Large Growth
No
Columbia Large Cap Growth V
GAEGX
28.72
32.83
23.45
18.80
Large Growth
Yes
Glenmede Quant US Large Cap Gr Eq
GTLLX
33.20
28.66
20.94
18.78
Large Growth
No
Federated Hermes MDT Large Cap Growth IS
QILGX
30.38
33.53
24.87
18.77
Large Growth
No
Best Small Cap Funds
View All 4 Best Small-Cap Stock Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: S&P 500
28.71%
26.07%
18.47%
16.55%
Oberweis Micro-Cap
OBMCX
53.38
34.44
22.20
19.56
Small Growth
No
Needham Aggressive Growth Retail
NEAGX
37.54
44.18
22.37
17.95
Small Growth
No
Congress Small Cap Growth Institutional
CSMCX
39.39
34.36
24.89
17.02
Small Growth
No
Oberweis Small-Cap Opportunities
OBSOX
43.57
33.49
22.61
16.91
Small Growth
No
Best Sector Funds
View All 8 Best Sector Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund (top award winners in best performing sectors)
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: S&P 500
28.71%
26.07%
18.47%
16.55%
Fidelity Select Semiconductors
FSELX
59.19
55.64
35.06
28.35
Technology
No
Fidelity Advisor Semiconductors I
FELIX
57.91
55.16
34.58
27.99
Technology
No
Rydex Electronics Inv
RYSIX
38.67
51.47
31.98
23.88
Technology
No
Fidelity Select Construction & Hsg Port
FSHOX
57.55
40.80
24.34
20.52
Consumer Cyclical
No
Fidelity Select Brokerage & Invmt Mgmt
FSLBX
40.61
31.39
20.16
17.11
Financial
No
Best International Stock Funds
View All 173 Best International Stock Funds For 2022
View All 335 Best U.S. Taxable Bond Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond
-1.54%
4.79%
3.57%
2.90%
Virtus AllianzGI Convertible Inst
ANNPX
5.28
27.52
19.74
14.43
Convertibles
No
Franklin Convertible Securities A
FISCX
7.41
24.84
19.06
14.24
Convertibles
Yes
Lord Abbett Convertible I
LCFYX
1.19
27.60
18.58
13.87
Convertibles
No
Columbia Convertible Securities A
PACIX
3.87
24.67
17.16
13.55
Convertibles
No
Fidelity Convertible Securities
FCVSX
10.05
26.36
16.86
12.73
Convertibles
No
Best Municipal Bond Funds
View All 94 Best Municipal Bond Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: Bloomberg Municipal Bond
1.52%
4.73%
4.17%
3.72%
No
Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond I
NHMRX
9.89
8.33
7.76
7.90
High Yield Muni
Yes
Invesco Rochester Municipal Opps A
ORNAX
6.72
8.77
8.46
7.78
High Yield Muni
No
Nuveen CA High Yield Municipal Bond I
NCHRX
5.39
7.68
6.72
7.28
Muni California Long
Yes
Invesco AMT-Free Municipal A
OPTAX
4.15
7.86
7.39
7.06
High Yield Muni
No
MainStay MacKay High Yield Muncpl Bd I
MMHIX
6.36
6.96
6.80
6.88
High Yield Muni
No
Best International Bond Funds
View All 33 Best International Bond Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond
-4.71%
3.59%
3.36%
1.77%
GMO Emerging Country Debt III
GMCDX
-1.29
6.55
5.06
6.82
Emerging Markets Bond
No
Stone Harbor Emerg Mkts Corp Dbt Instl
SHCDX
1.95
7.77
5.44
5.55
Emerging Markets Bond
No
Janus Henderson Developed World Bond A
HFAAX
-0.78
5.85
4.71
5.40
World Bond-USD Hedged
No
Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opps
FEMDX
1.58
5.08
5.06
5.13
Emerging Markets Bond
No
Transamerica Emerging Markets Debt I
EMTIX
-3.99
5.28
4.17
5.06
Emerging Markets Bond
No
Best Index Funds
View All 3 Best Index Funds For 2022
Mutual Fund
Symbol
1-year total return
3-year average annual return
5-year average annual return
10-year average annual return
Morningstar Category
Closed to New Inv
Benchmark: S&P 500
28.71%
26.07%
18.47%
16.55%
Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Idx Port I
IRLNX
30.66
34.95
26.15
20.13
Large Growth
No
Praxis Growth Index I
MMDEX
31.97
32.36
24.16
19.46
Large Growth
No
ProFunds Large Cap Growth Inv
LGPIX
30.01
29.78
21.85
16.98
Large Growth
No
Sources: IBD, Morningstar Direct
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The Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund charges very low costs—check out that 0.07% annual expense ratio—and tracks some of the biggest growth stocks in the U.S. VRGWX's 10-year average annual return beats the S&P 500's return over the same period.
No. 1 on the list is the ProFunds Semiconductor UltraSector Fund, which yielded 29.21% over the past decade. In second place is the Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Fund, with 28.16%. And the bronze medal goes to the Rydex NASDAQ-100 2x Strategy Fund, which yielded 26.58%.
Last year, 47% of actively managed open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds beat their benchmarks - a marked increase over the 43% hurdle rate in 2022. Morningstar refers to the boost as a "surge." Yet active managers haven't become better at beating the market over the long term, as Morningstar acknowledges.
I put my personal 401(k) and a lot of my mutual fund investing in four types of mutual funds: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth, and international. I personally spread mine in 25% of those four.
The Needham Aggressive Growth Retail fund beat the S&P 500 index over the past one-, three-, five- and 10-year periods. Its 10-year average return was 12.78%.
He owns a small bit of each in his portfolio for Berkshire, too. The two investments held in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio that Buffett recommends more than anything else are two S&P 500 index funds. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). Image source: The Motley Fool.
Here are 5 mutual fund schemes with highest 3-year returns along with their expense ratios: Quant Small Cap Fund(G) tops the chart with over 39% returns followed by Quant Mid Cap Fund(G), Nippon India Small Cap Fund(G), Quant Flexi Cap Fund(G) and Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund-Reg(G) in the same pecking order.
What Are the Results? Generally, when you look at mutual fund performance over the long run, you can see a trend of actively-managed funds underperforming the S&P 500 index. A common statistic is that the S&P 500 outperforms 80% of mutual funds. While this statistic is true in some years, it's not always the case.
Key Points. The S&P 500's track record is impressive, but the Vanguard Growth ETF has outperformed it. The Vanguard Growth ETF leans heavily toward tech businesses that exhibit faster revenue and earnings gains. No matter what investments you choose, it's always smart to keep a long-term mindset.
The fund's roughly 13% annualized gain over the past decade beat the S&P 500 (the fund's broad-market prospectus benchmark) and ranked among the best-performing third of funds in either the large-blend or large-growth Morningstar Categories.
The inherent structure of the Vanguard Growth ETF means that it should outperform the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 if large-cap growth is leading the market, which is precisely what has been happening in 2023, 2024, and for most of the last five years.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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