December 31, 2011

Best Ranked Balanced Mutual Funds of 2012

End of the year of 2011 is approaching, and the year 2012 will mark another year for picking the mutual fund's winner for the past decade. Some mutual funds may have outperformed its peer or its benchmark and some may be trailing its benchmark. The following article will look into the best performer balanced funds for the past 10 year (2002-2011). The best balanced funds include Bruce fund, First Eagle Global A, Permanent Portfolio, Ivy Asset Strategy, and more.

This balanced fund is also known as hybrid fund. This mutual fund invests in variety type of assets such as equities or stocks, bonds or fixed income, commodities (gold bullion), cash, preferred, convertible, etc. The fund assets may be allocated in US or foreign based depending upon its fund’s objective.

The Top 10 Balanced Mutual Funds for the past decade (2012 version) are:
Best Balanced Fund 2011
  1. Bruce (BRUFX)
  2. First Eagle Global A (SGENX)
  3. Permanent Portfolio (PRPFX)
  4. Waddell & Reed Asset Strategy A (UNASX)
  5. Loomis Sayles Global Equity and Income Y (LSWWX)
  6. Ivy Asset Strategy C (WASCX)
  7. FPA Crescent (FPACX)
  8. Berwyn Income (BERIX)
  9. GMO Global Asset Allocation III (GMWAX)
  10. ING T Rowe Price Cap Appreciation Portfolio S (ITCSX)
Updated on 12/18/2011

Best of the Best Fund | Bruce Fund (BRUFX)

As the top balanced fund, Bruce fund has returned 16.05% over the past decade. This moderate allocation balanced fund is also featured as the best balanced fund by Morningstar. It is rated with 5 stars rating. This hybrid fund invests in common stocks and bonds such as convertible and zero coupon government bonds. The fund’s manager is Robert B Bruce. Bruce is the president of Bruce & Co since 1974. This fund charges an expense ratio of 0.82% per year.

This Bruce fund also has a dividend yield of 4.10%. For the 2011, this fund has returned 5.50%. Investor can start investing with $1000 initial investment. There is no sales load and 12b1 fee for this fund. The fund has returned 9.57% over the past 1 year, and 22.11% over the past 3 year. The fund’s beta (3 year)  is 0.88.
The fund’s top 5 equity sectors include: Healthcare, Consumer Cyclical, Utilities, Technology, and Industrials.

Second Best | First Eagle Global A (SGENX)

First Eagle Global Fund
As the second best fund in balanced fund category, this First Eagle Global fund’s objective is to provide long term capital growth. This top world allocation balanced fund invests in market around the world including United States and Europe. This mutual fund may allocate 40% or more to foreign investments.
Matthew McLennan is the fund’s manager of this First Eagle fund. The fund’s yield is 1.37%. The annual expense ratio fee is 1.16%. This class A also charges a sales load of 5%.  Investor can buy this fund with $2500 initial funding. This best fund is also rated with 4 stars rating by Morningstar.

Top Performer Target Date Mutual Funds 2011

This First Eagle Global fund has returned 12.99% over the past 3 year and 4.02% over the past 5 year. The fund’s performance over the long term has been outstanding. It has 35 years with positive return and 5 years with negative return.

The top 5 holdings of this SGENX fund include Gold Commodity, SECOM Co Ltd, Cisco Systems Inc, FirstEnergy Corp, and Keyence Corp.

The Third Best Balanced fund for the past decade

Permanent Portfolio fund
Permanent Portfolio fund is the third best balanced fund for the past 10 years. This conservative allocation balanced fund invests most of its assets in various assets such as gold, silver, Swiss franc assets, US stocks, foreign real estate, and natural resources companies. This top rated fund also has total net assets of $15.83 billion. Since 2003, the fund’s manager is Michael J Cuggino.

This  PRPFX fund also has a dividend yield of 0.60%. The expense ratio is 0.77%. As part of no load fund, this best balanced fund doesn’t charge any sales load to buy and sell this mutual fund. You can start invest with $1,000. This Permanent Portfolio fund is widely available from 91 brokerages such as TD Ameritrade, Merrill Lynch, Scottrade, Fidelity, and more. Morningstar also rated this fund with 5 stars rating.

Waddell & Reed Asset Strategy A (UNASX)

As world allocation balanced fund, the Waddell & Reed Asset Strategy fund invests in stocks, bonds, short term instruments of issuers around the world. It may also invest in precious metals and variety of foreign currencies. Morningstar has rated this fund with 4 stars rating.

This best fund is managed by Michael L Avery. The fund’s expense ratio is 1.14%. You can purchase this fund from 21 brokerages. The fund also has total net assets of $2.9 billion. It also has a front end sales load of 5.75%.

Other Top Balanced Funds | Ivy Asset Strategy, FPA Crescent, Berwyn Income

The other top balanced funds for the past decade include Loomis Sayles Global Equity and Income fund, Ivy Asset Strategy fund, FPA Crescent fund, and Berwyn Income fund.

The Loomis Sayles Global Equity and Income Y (LSWWX) fund is managed by Daniel Fuss since 1996. This fund is also rated with 4 stars rating by Morningstar. This World Allocation balanced fund doesn’t have any sales load and it has an expense ratio of 0.99%.

The next top balanced fund is Ivy Asset Strategy C (WASCX) fund. This WASCX fund’s manager is Michael L Avery. It has 1% deferred sales load. The fund’s expense ratio fee is 1.74%. The fund has returned 10.56% over the past 3 year and 5.95% over the past 5 year.

FPA Crescent (FPACX) fund has been featured in this MEPB Financial blog. It is also part of Kiplinger best 25 funds of 2011. This FPACX fund is categorized as moderate allocation balanced fund. This 5 star rated fund is managed by Steven Romick.

Berwyn Income (BERIX) fund is another top conservative allocation balanced fund. This 5 stars fund has a yield of 3.20%. The fund has total net assets of $1.3 Billion. This balanced fund invests in corporate bonds, US Treasury bills, bonds and notes, US Government debts, preferred stocks, asset backed securities, mortgage backed securities, municipal bonds, and dividend paying common stocks.

Disclosure: No Position


NoFund NameTicker10 Year Return %
1BruceBRUFX16.05%
2First Eagle Global ASGENX12.08%
3Permanent PortfolioPRPFX11.15%
4Waddell & Reed Asset Strategy AUNASX9.66%
5Loomis Sayles Global Equity and Income YLSWWX9.40%
6Ivy Asset Strategy CWASCX8.57%
7FPA CrescentFPACX8.49%
8Berwyn IncomeBERIX8.11%
9GMO Global Asset Allocation IIIGMWAX8.10%
10ING T. Rowe Price Cap Appreciation Portfolio SITCSX7.87%

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