This mid-blend fund has benefited from the steady direction of long-time manager Joel Tillinghast, who has the fund up 31% YTD. Specializing in stocks that sell for under $35 per share leads Fidelity Low-Priced Stock ( FLPSX) to many midcap and small-cap names. Top holdings include Google ( GOOG), Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.B), Apple ( AAPL), Wells Fargo ( WFC) and Noble Energy ( NBL).Įxpenses run 0.74% annually, or $74 for every $10,000 invested.īest Mutual Fund #2: Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX) The mutual fund’s portfolio is a who’s who of solid blue chips, and skews strongly toward technology stocks (29%), while consumer discretionary names account for 20% of the portfolio. Still, long-term investors have been rewarded over time as this fund is up 10.1% annualized over the past decade, which places it in the top 5% of its Morningstar category. The fund owns more than 300 stocks, and turnover is 48% over the past year. Danoff is not a momentum-driven stock picker instead, he buys growth names that trade at reasonable prices and has a feel for uncovering solid businesses at the right price.įCNTX has been defying critics for years who felt the large base of assets made the fund impossible to manage successfully. William Danoff has managed this large-cap offering since 1990 and continues to master the art of growth investing. Here are five of the best 401k mutual funds that are available in many plans:īest Mutual Fund #1: Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX)įidelity Contrafund ( FCNTX) remains one of the best mutual funds you can own despite the growing asset base of the $73 billion fund. But if you’re looking for factors that are actually in your control, you need to start early, and you also must make the best of your available choices if you want to retire happily. Those figures certainly were helped along by a robust market this year. For investors that are “pre-retirees” age 55 or older, balances hit the high-water mark of $255,000 at the end of 2013’s first quarter. Maximizing the success of the 401k is a big piece of this puzzle.įidelity Investments - the nation’s largest 401k provider - revealed in November that the average balance hit an all-time high of $84,300 at the end of the third quarter.
Thus, workers have to be even more committed to crafting a winning strategy when it comes to funding their golden years. One thing is clear in the workforce today - having a roster of the best 401k mutual funds you can find is more important than ever.Ĭorporate pensions continue to disappear as plans run into financial problems or simply are not offered today.