Avoid These 3 Mutual Fund Misfires - November 26, 2019

You may need to start looking for a new financial advisor if your current one has put any of these high-fee, low-return "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market" into your portfolio.

How can you tell a good mutual fund from a bad one? It's pretty basic: If the fund has high fees and performs poorly, it's not good. Of course, there's a range - but when a mutual fund earns a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) that means it's among the worst of roughly 19,000 funds we rate each day.

Below, you'll read about some of the funds included in our current list of "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market." And if by chance you're invested in any of these misfires, we'll help and review some of our highest Zacks Ranked mutual funds.

3 Mutual Fund Misfires

Now, let's take a look at three market misfires.

Hodges Fund (HDPMX): 1.18% expense ratio and 0.85% management fee. HDPMX 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 a five year after-costs return of 0.85%, you're for the most part paying more in charges than returns.

JPMorgan International Value Fund R2 (JPVZX). Expense ratio: 1.3%. Management fee: 0.85%. Over the last 5 years, this fund has generated annual returns of -1.65%.

Ivy Natural Resources B (IGNBX) - 3.01% expense ratio, 0.85% management fee. IGNBX is a Sector - Energy mutual fund, which encompasses a wide range of vastly changing and vitally important industries throughout this massive global sector. IGNBX has generated annual returns of -10.09% over the last five years. Ouch!

3 Top Ranked Mutual Funds

Since you've seen the most noticeably lowest Zacks Ranked mutual funds, how about we take a look at some of the top ranked mutual funds with the least fees.

Dreyfus/Boston Small/Mid-Cap Growth A (DBMAX) is a winner, with an expense ratio of just 0.98% and a five-year annualized return track record of 10.06%.

DFA US Large Cap Growth Institutional (DUSLX) has an expense ratio of 0.2% and management fee of 0.17%. DUSLX is a Large Cap Growth option; these mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. With annual returns of 12.05% over the last five years, this is a well-diversified fund with a long track record of success.

AB Discovery Growth Adviser (CHCYX): Expense ratio: 0.72%. Management fee: 0.61%. CHCYX 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. CHCYX has produced a 10.45% over the last five years.

Bottom Line

These examples underscore the huge range in quality of mutual funds - from the really bad to the astonishingly good. There is no reason for your advisor to keep your money in any fund that charges more than you get in return (unless they're getting something out of it, like a high commission).

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