Investing in mutual funds for retirement is never too late. And the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can be an excellent tool for investors looking to invest in the best funds.

The easiest, most reliable way to judge a mutual fund's quality over time is by analyzing its performance, diversification, and fees. The Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, which covers over 19,000 mutual funds, has helped us identify three outstanding options that are perfect for any long-term investors' portfolios that is retirement-focused.

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

American Funds AMCAP 529E

(CAFEX): 0.92% expense ratio and 0.3% management fee. CAFEX is a part of the Large Cap Growth mutual fund category, which invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. CAFEX has achieved five-year annual returns of an astounding 11.09%.

BNY Mellon Dynamic Value Y

(DRGYX) is a stand out amongst its peers. DRGYX is a Large Cap Value fund. These funds invest in stocks with a market cap of $10 billion of more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. With five-year annualized performance of 19%, expense ratio of 0.63% and management fee of 0.6%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

First Eagle Gold A

(SGGDX): 1.16% expense ratio and 0.75% management fee. SGGDX is classified as a Sector - Precious Metal fund, and these mutual funds invest in stocks with a focus on the mining and production of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. With a five-year annual return of 10.94%, this fund is a well-diversified fund with a long track record of success.

These examples highlight the fact that there are some astonishingly good mutual funds out there. If your advisor has you in the good ones, bravo! If not, you may need to have a talk.

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

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