Last week, American Funds announced that 13 of its funds have been selected in the 2017 Q1 Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource Select List prepared by Charles Schwab Investment Advisory. The inclusion of some of the key mutual funds of American Funds in the OneSource Select List is likely to attract more investors with a long-term objective to the American Funds family.

Further, the second-biggest fund family of the U.S. drew more attention from investors after three of its equity funds, New Perspective (RNPGX - Free Report), Smallcap World Fund (RSLFX - Free Report) and EuroPacific Growth (RERGX - Free Report), along with its target-date funds won 24 Lipper Fund Awards. American Funds’ target-date funds won in all the 3-year and 5-year categories. Further, American Funds 2030 Target Date Retirement Fund (RFETX - Free Report), which has strong exposure to all the three award-winning equity funds, has returned 5.6% year to date.

Additionally, the fund family generated outstanding returns from some of its key funds last year that was reflected in Morningstar’s 2016 “Fantastic 45” List. Of the 45 funds enlisted, 11 belong to the American Funds’ family. Lower expenses, effective fund management and the resilience to survive market volatility have resulted in strong fund returns.

What Boosted American Fund’s Performance?

American Funds invests in a variety of sectors that are sensitive, cyclical and defensive. From the sensitive sectors, most investments are made in the technology sector. Among the cyclical sectors, the fund family invests in financial services. The company has also gained from investing in defensive sectors.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) jumped 10.5% in the last six months. Consequently, mutual funds related to this sector registered stable returns. According to Morningstar, the technology mutual fund registered a year-to-date return of 11.8%. Additionally, Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) climbed 19% in the last six months and was the biggest gainer among the S&P 500 sectors.

Buy These 4 American Mutual Funds

American Funds is one of the largest and oldest mutual fund companies in the world. It has more than $1.3 trillion assets under management invested in mutual funds across a wide range of categories including both equity and fixed-income funds. Generally, American Funds focuses on providing long-term returns to investors. This family deals with more than 58 mutual funds.

The parent company of American Funds, Capital Group, currently has around $1.4 trillion assets. Founded in 1931, American Funds offers a wide range of financial services all over the world through its offices in different regions including North America and Europe, and 7,000 associates.

Here, we have selected four mutual funds that carry a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy). These funds have encouraging three-month returns and minimum initial investment is within $5000. Also, these funds have low expense ratios.

We expect these funds to outperform their peers in the future. Remember, the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers. Unlike most of the fund-rating systems, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance, but also on the likely future success of the fund.

American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 (RGAGX - Free Report) invests a bulk of its assets in common stocks of companies, which generally offer capital appreciation.  RGAGX may also invest around one-fourth of its assets in securities of foreign companies. The fund attains its investment objective by using the multiple portfolio manager system.

RGAGX has an expense ratio of 0.33% compared with the category average of 1.21% and returned 5.4% in the last three months.

American Funds American Balanced A (ABALX - Free Report) seeks long-term growth of capital. ABALX invests in both common stocks and bonds that are rated investment grade and provide dividend income. It also invests in securities that are issued by the U.S. government and its entities. Moreover, the fund may invest in securities of issuers located in foreign lands.

ABALX has an expense ratio of 0.59% compared with the category average of 0.80% and returned 3.3% in the last three months.

American Funds Washington Mutual R6 (RWMGX - Free Report) maintains a diversified portfolio by investing in securities of companies having an impressive record of earnings and dividend. RWMGX seeks to offer income and appreciation of principal, by investing primarily in those companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

RWMGX has an expense ratio of 0.30% compared with the category average of 0.74% and returned 3.2% in the last three months.

American Funds Tax-Advantage Income A (TAIAX - Free Report) seeks growth of income, which is exempt from federal income tax. TAIAX also offer capital appreciation for the long run, by investing in a wide variety of American Funds in different weightings and combinations. By investing in its underlying funds, TAIAX invests in dividend-paying stocks. The fund may also invest in companies based in foreign and emerging markets.

TAIAX has an expense ratio of 0.78% compared with the category average of 0.83% and returned 2.8% in the last three months.