Do you want to help save and grow your hard-earned money? Mutual funds can help you with high return, growth, and value. There are over 2,813 types of mutual funds that have over $100 million in assets and have been in operation for 10 years and included in these are over 470 growth mutual funds.

After the election, the stock indexes rose to a record high, but what was gained was lost at the beginning of the year. The blue-chip stocks, which gained nearly 10% in 2016, shed over 9% at the start of 2017. Short term twists and turns in investment can be dangerous to your money. Stick to a strategy that will serve your goals for years to come.

If you wish to gather more information on the 2017 best mutual funds, then the IBD Best Mutual Funds awards are the place to begin. You can start small and build on your retirement fund. There are various types of funds including bond funds, sector funds, and international stock funds. Always check the details and choose only those funds that will fit in your portfolio.

The major fund companies include Fidelity, Vanguard, and T. Rowe Price as well as brokers such as Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and E-Trade. Gather all the information of the fund from their prospectuses, quarterly reports and manager commentaries.

It is not necessary to have just award-winning funds; the fund has to fit in with your portfolio. There are over 135 U.S. equity funds which came close to winning IBD Best Mutual Funds Award status. But they have failed to outperform in the 4 time periods.

There are 14 young U.S. equity funds that have topped the list but do not pass the ten-year-old benchmark. 92 different types of funds outperformed in various categories all less than five years old. Funds that were hit hard were growth funds, value funds, and small caps none had repeat winners.

U.S. bond funds were successful in returning winners over 159 of them were four times winners. Their benchmark is Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

The unpredictable market of 2016 has resulted in many funds not returning to the list after all. There are millions who save their money in mutual funds, so it is important to keep the best ones in mind. The 2017 best mutual funds include –

• Vanguard Energy Fund: Earn a profit from the oil market by saving in mutual funds based on oil stocks, best of which is Vanguard Energy Fund is the top choice. They have offers from across the globe down the value chain including producers, logistics providers, and service companies. The expense is just 0.37% the investors get to pocket 75% of the profit. Investors who wish to add to their mutual fund portfolio with oil gains, the Vanguard Energy Fund is the best to buy in 2017.
• Pioneer Natural Resources: It is the second-largest holding and a part of the 2017 best mutual funds. They earned five stars from mutual fund reviewer and a No 1 rating among the equity energy funds.
• Vanguard Value Index: Value stocks outperform growth stocks. Buying a set of stocks trading at low multiples is a sound strategy. Value investing may go out of favor, like the dot-com bubble. But if kept over a long period it pays. They are risky as some stocks come cheap and investors may get trapped and suffer a major loss if the company collapses. Vanguard Value Index Fund is huge with assets over $50 billion. Here the investor gets to diversify without having to choose the stocks. This fund will not expose you to small-cap stocks.
• Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities: Investors are always looking to balance their assets. This fund is for those who wish to invest and yet not face the fear of rising rates. This fund is inflation indexed whose value and interest payment is linked to the rate of inflation. If the consumer price rises the price of the indexed bond also rises keeping the purchasing power constant. It prevents any major price rise making it more stable. They are not invulnerable to price rise, anything other than inflation that leads to a price rise may result in this fund losing money. This fund is specially made for those who wish to get protection from inflation.
• Parnassus Endeavor: At $3.7 billion Parnassus Endeavor is number one fund in U.S. diversified equity category. Its top holding is Micron Technology that reported 8,900% leap in second-quarter earnings [rising 1 cent a share to 90 cents a share]. Sales increased 58% year-over-year it helped power the fund up 26%.
• Champlain Small Co.: The $1.3 billion Champlain Small Company, tops in the small-cap category. Blackbaud was leading. It makes finance, management, and administration software for nonprofit companies. It has a stellar 95 Composite Rating from IBD; its shares are up 26% over past 12 months.