There are so many different types of mutual funds to choose from. Find out which mutual fund types are best suited to your personal investing style.
There are many different types of mutual funds you can choose from. Some of the most popular are:
- Equity Mutual Funds
- Fixed Income Mutual Funds
- Money Market Mutual Funds
- No Load Mutual Funds
- Growth Stock Mutual Funds
- Tax Saving Mutual Funds
- Index Mutual Funds
- Gold Mutual Funds
- Socially Responsible Mutual Funds
Read on to learn the ins and outs of each of the above types of mutual funds.
Equity Mutual Funds
Most people who invest in mutual funds invest in equity funds. In a lot of ways, these emulate the principle upon which a lot of stock-market moves are made: long-term investment resulting in capital gain
Fixed Income Mutual Funds
This type of mutual fund relies mainly on bonds — not a stock in a company but a kind of loan that the company (or a municipality, or a state, or the federal government) then pays back with interest. These are going to pay out a lot less than a successful equity type mutual fund, but the risks are controllable by bond type.
Money Market Mutual Funds
If you’re looking for a place to put your money that’s better than a savings account but very much risk-free, this type of mutual funds typically can do the trick. Most of the time you’ll find money market portfolios full of Treasury bills.
No Load Mutual Funds
A no load mutual fund is a fund in which shares are sold without a commission. The reason for this is that the shares are distributed directly by the investment company, instead of going through a secondary party.
Growth Stock Mutual Funds
A growth stock mutual fund is essentially a diversified portfolio of stocks that has, as it’s primary goal, capital appreciation. It consists mainly of companies with above-average growth in earnings. Instead of paying dividends, these companies will reinvest their earnings into expansion, acquisitions, research and development, etc.
Tax Saving Mutual Funds
A tax-free savings account can hold a variety of investment instruments – one of which is a mutual fund. The fund can grow tax-free for life, meaning that interest, dividends and capital gains earned are never taxed – even when withdrawn!
Index Mutual Funds
An index mutual fund has a portfolio constructed to match the components of a market index (i.e.: S&P 500). This kind of mutual fund is said to provide broad market exposure, low operating expenses and low portfolio turnover.
Gold Mutual Funds
A gold mutual funs invests primarily in gold-producing companies or gold bullion. The price of shares within a gold fund correlates closely to the spot price of gold itself (assuming the fund holds the majority of its assets either in bullion or in the stocks/bonds of gold miners).
Socially Responsible Mutual Funds
Socially responsible mutual funds hold securities in companies that adhere to social, moral, religious or environmental beliefs. To ensure the stocks chosen have values that coincide with the fund’s beliefs, companies undergo a careful screening process.
Ranking of Top Stock Newsletters Based on Last 3 Years of Stock Picks as of December 27, 2025
We are paid subscribers to dozens of stock and option newsletters. We actively track every recommendation from all of these services, calculate performance, and share our results of the top performing stock newsletters whose subscriptions fees are under $500. The main metric to look for is "Return vs S&P500" which is their return above that of the S&P500. So, based on December 27, 2025 prices:
Best Stock Newsletters Last 3 Years' Performance
| Rank | Stock Newsletter | Picks Return | Return vs S&P500 | Picks w Profit | Max % Return | Current Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Alpha Picks | 82% | 56% | 76% | 1,583% | January Promotion: Save $50 HERE |
| Summary: 2 picks per month based on Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating; consistently beating the market every year since launch; tells you when to sell and they have sold almost half. See complete details in our full Alpha Picks review. Or get their Premium service to get their QUANT RATINGS on your stocks to better manage your current portfolio--read our Is Seeking Alpha Worth It? article to learn more about their Quant Ratings. | ||||||
| 2. |  Zacks Value Investor | 60% | 40% | 54% | 692% | January Promotion: $1, then $495/yr |
| Summary: 10 stock picks per year on January 1st based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr and includes 6 different services including those below. Read our Zacks Review. | ||||||
| 3. |  Moby.co | 50% | 16% | 74% | 2,569% | January Promotion: Next pick free! |
| Summary: 60-150 stock picks per year, segmented by industry; consistently beating the market every year; retail price is $199/yr. Read our full Moby Review. | ||||||
| 4. | Zacks Top 10 | 36% | 15% | 71% | 170% | January Promotion: $1, then $495/yr |
| Summary: 10 stock picks per year on January 1st based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr and includes 6 different services. Read our Zacks Review. | ||||||
| 5. |  TipRanks SmartInvestor | 20% | 9% | 62% | 464% | Current Promotion: Save $180 |
| Summary: About 1 pick/week focusing on short term trades; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2015. Retail Price is $379/yr. Read our TipRanks Review. | ||||||
| 6. |  Action Alerts Plus | 27% | 5% | 66% | 208% | Current Promotion: None |
| Summary: 100-150 trades per year, lots of buying and selling and short-term trades. Read our Jim Cramer Review. | ||||||
| 7. | Zacks Home Run Investor | 5% | -0.4% | 45% | 241% | January Promotion: $1, then $495/yr |
| Summary: 40-50 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review. | ||||||
| 8. | Dogs of the Dow Strategy | 16% | -1.8% | 43% | 44% | Current Promotion: None |
| Summary: Buy the 10 highest yielding dividends stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on January 1st and sell on Dec 31st each year. | ||||||
| 9. | IBD Leaderboard ETF | 11.4% | -1.8% | n/a | n/a | January Promotion: NONE |
| Summary: Maintains top 50 stocks to invest in based on IBD algorithm; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Investors Business Daily Review. | ||||||
| 10. |  Stock Advisor | 34% | -3.9% | 75% | 289% | January Promotion: Get $100 Off |
| Summary: 2 picks/month and 2 Best Buy Stocks lists focusing on high growth potential stocks over 5 years; Retail Price is $199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Review. | ||||||
| 11. | Zacks Under $10 | -0.2% | -4% | -4.3 | 263% | January Promotion: $1, then $495/yr |
| Summary: 40-50 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review. | ||||||
| 12. | Rule Breakers | 34% | -5.1% | 69% | 320% | Current Promotion: Save $200 |
| Summary: Rule Breakers is included with the Fool's Epic Service. Get 5 picks/month focusing on disruptive technology and business models; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2005; Now part of Motley Fool Epic. Read our Motley Fool Epic Review. | ||||||
| Top Ranking Stock Newsletters based on their last 3 years of stock picks covering 2025, 2024, and 2023 performance as compared to S&P500. S&P500's return is based on average return of S&P500 from date each stock pick is released. NOTE: To get these results you must buy equal dollar amounts of each pick on the date the stock pick is released. Investor Business Daily Top 50 based on performance of FFTY ETF. Performance as of December 27, 2025. | ||||||