

"If you can find BlackRock Capital Appreciation fund, I think it's going to perform well for you," he says.īrian Stivers, president and founder of Stivers Financial, says he recommends that clients with 401(k)s start with an S&P 500 index fund, which allows broad, large-cap market exposure. Tech is the fund's largest exposure, although it is overweight in communication services, at 19.3%, and consumer cyclical at 18.7%.

The annual expense ratio is 0.72%, and the fund has returned 26% annually over a five-year period. MAFGX has a low turnover of 25%, which helps to keep the costs down. This fund holds "companies where people are constantly buying their stuff, and going to continue to buy their stuff," Phelps says. This large-cap fund has a growth tilt and its top holdings are among some of the names that have driven great returns lately, such as Microsoft, Amazon and Apple. "The fund has been terrific," he says.īlackRock Capital Appreciation Fund ( MAFGX) ( UBER) also round out the biggest holdings. Many of the usual large-cap names are in the top 10, although Inc. Currently, FAGAX is overweight in technology and communication services. The fund has a heavy domestic tilt, but it also has a little more than 10% in foreign equity. He says the fund's 47% turnover suggests Weaver and his team are managing the account well. "The money manager, Kyle Weaver, always seems to hit the hot stocks," says Azoury. This large-growth fund has consistently delivered results over time, as FAGAX's annualized 10-year return is 23.2%, putting it in the top 2% of its large-growth peers, according to Morningstar. The lead manager Frau Erin Xie has been with the fund since 2003.įidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund ( FAGAX) Some of the top holdings include UnitedHealth Group Inc. SHSSX is a large-cap blend fund that focuses on the health sector and is spread out between health care equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals, health care providers and biotechnology. One of his choices is SHSSX, which he says has had good long-term performance with an annualized 18.2% return over 10 years. This fund has $109 billion in assets.īlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio ( SHSSX)ĭwain Phelps, CEO and owner of Phelps Financial, is a fan of BlackRock funds, which are becoming more of an option in some 401(k) funds.

This fund is up 22.8% year to date and has a 15-year annualized return of 13.6%. TRBCX has an expense ratio of 0.68% and a low turnover rate of 29%, which represents the percentage of the fund's holdings that changed over the past year. Among some of the top holdings are Apple Inc. The fund has a mix of aggressive and steadily growing companies, but seeks out high-quality companies, too, as a blue-chip fund. "It's a very consistent fund that has outperformed its benchmark for 25 years," he says. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund ( TRBCX)Īzoury's second choice for a 401(k) fund is TRBCX. ( PYPL), and the top 10 holdings make up 36% of the fund so it's not top-heavy in its biggest names. As a domestic, large-cap fund, its holdings include Shopify Inc. In the last three, five and 10 years it has ranked in the top 10% of growth funds, according to Morningstar, with a 10-year annualized return of 20%. Steve Azoury, founder of Azoury Financial, calls VWUSX "probably Vanguard's best growth fund." It has $55 billion in assets. That means it costs $38 for every $10,000 invested per year. Vanguard is known for its low-cost funds, and VWUSX is no exception with its expense ratio of 0.38%. ( AMZN), but at lower weights than its peers. The fund holds many of the top names that have driven returns lately, such as Microsoft Corp. Over five years, it's returned an annualized 12%. By their very nature, they tend to be conservative, but you also give up some upside return by concentrating on a conservative style," Hawley says. "Their investment style is you can count on them to never lose big money in downturns. Hawley says American Funds suit cautious investors. RLBFX is another asset allocation fund found in many 401(k) plans. He often likes to pair it with a more-aggressive equity fund to boost growth.Īmerican Funds American Balanced Fund ( RLBFX) Rowe Price funds, saying the firm has "probably the greatest concentration of high-performing funds of any of the fund families." One of his favorites is VPRAX, noting the fund outperformed its peers in both the short term and long term, according to Morningstar, and has a 15.4% annualized return over five years. This type of fund holds a diversified portfolio of investments across different asset classes, and usually allocates 50% to 70% to equity holdings. Daniel Hawley, president and chief investment officer of Hawley Advisors, is a fan of asset-allocation funds that are common in many 401(k) plans.
