Founded in 1889, Northern Trusts manages assets worth more than $1 trillion (as of Dec 31, 2019) based on assets raised in the country. The company generally focuses on funds that have a long-term performance goal. Moreover, all the Northern funds bear no sales load, making them strong investment choices for those seeking low-cost funds.

Northern Trusts is one of the major asset management companies, providing a variety of investment solutions and strategies to both individuals and institutions. It comprises investment professionals with experience of more than 15 years. At present, the company has more than 20 branches globally with around 18,800 employees.

Below we focus on three top-ranked Northern mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform peers.

Northern Arizona Tax-Exempt Fund (NOAZX - Free Report) seeks to offer a high current income exempted from regular federal income tax and Arizona State personal income tax. The fund does so by investing in municipal instruments. The non-diversified fund invests the majority of its assets in debt instruments that pay interest exempted from regular federal income tax and in instruments that provide income exempted from Arizona State personal income tax. NOAZX has three-year annualized returns of 4.6%.

NOAZX has an expense ratio of 0.47% compared with the category average of 0.86%.

Northern Large Cap Value Fund (NOLVX - Free Report) invests a large chunk of its assets in securities of those large-cap companies, which have market cap similar to the ones present on the Russell 1000 Value Index. The fund seeks capital growth for the long run. NOLVX has three-year annualized returns of 8%.

As of December 2019, NOLVX held 150 issues, with 3.27% of its assets invested in Johnson & Johnson.

Northern Small Cap Core Fund (NSGRX - Free Report) seeks appreciation of capital over the long haul. NSGRX invests more than 80% of its assets in common stocks of small-cap companies, basically those with market cap in the range of the Russell 2000 Index. NSGRX has three-year annualized returns of 6.7%.

Robert H. Bergson is the fund manager of NSGRX since 2010.