If you're evaluating mutual funds for your investment portfolio or retirement account, this list highlights the best blend mutual funds to consider now, based on each fund outperforming the S&P 500 over the past one-, three-, five- and 10-year periods.
A blend fund is an equity mutual fund that contains a blend of both value stocks and growth stocks. A blend fund offers investors diversification between these two investment styles in one portfolio. Blend funds were created to provide investors with the benefits of value investing and growth investing.
Value stocks and value funds invest in undervalued investments that are identified on the basis of fundamental characteristics. Growth stocks and growth funds invest in companies with significant growth potential in the form of profits and capital gains. Many investors choose blend funds for diversification.
Shaded cells in the table below indicate the five best-of-the-best funds based on 10-year performance. Of 436 blend mutual funds at least 10 years old, just 10 of them, or 2%, won IBD Best Mutual Funds 2025 awards.
For more details, read about how the best mutual funds deliver benchmark-beating returns, and see the full 2025 list of IBD's Best Mutual Funds in every category, including bond funds, diversified stock funds, blend and index funds, and breakouts of large-cap, midcap and small-cap funds.
All returns are as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Best Blend Mutual Funds
| Fund | Symbol | 1-year total return | 3-year total return | 5-year total return | 10-year total return | Morningstar category | Annual report net expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark: S&P 500 | 25.02% | 8.94% | 14.53% | 13.10% | |||
| Elfun Trusts | ELFNX | 27.04 | 11.04 | 16.30 | 14.21 | Large Blend | 0.18% |
| Natixis US Equity Opportunities A | NEFSX | 25.23 | 10.60 | 15.26 | 14.06 | Large Blend | 1.10 |
| T. Rowe Price U.S. Equity Research | PRCOX | 26.42 | 10.04 | 15.36 | 13.73 | Large Blend | 0.44 |
| Fidelity Series All-Sector Equity* | FSAEX | 26.8 | 10.53 | 16.66 | 13.71 | Large Blend | 0.00 |
| Federated Hermes MDT All Cap Core IS | QIACX | 31.07 | 11.65 | 17.36 | 13.64 | Large Blend | 0.74 |
| JPMorgan US Large Cap Core Plus I | JLPSX | 28.93 | 10.91 | 17.33 | 13.54 | Large Blend | 1.45 |
| Putnam Core Equity Fund Y | PMYYX | 26.47 | 10.84 | 15.94 | 13.34 | Large Blend | 0.63 |
| Permanent Portfolio Aggressive Growth I | PAGRX | 44.49 | 14.02 | 20.62 | 13.28 | Large Blend | 1.21 |
| Fidelity Advisor Diversified Stock O* | FDESX | 27.86 | 9.59 | 16.61 | 13.22 | Large Blend | 0.41 |
| State Street US Core Equity Fund | SSAQX | 25.36 | 9.71 | 15.62 | 13.16 | Large Blend | 0.14 |
Sources: IBD, Morningstar Direct
* Fund is closed to new investors
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