Northern Trust is one of the major asset management companies, providing a variety of investment solutions and strategies to individuals and institutions. The company manages assets worth more than $1.2 trillion (as of Sep 30, 2019) based on assets raised in the country. It comprises investment professionals with experience of more than 15 years.

Founded in 1889, Northern Trust at present has 18,800 employees worldwide and operates in about 23 global locations. Moreover, all Northern Trust funds bear a low sales load, which makes them solid investment choices.

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

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 a market cap in the range of the Russell 2000 Index. NSGRX has three-year annualized returns of 10.4%.

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

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 3.1%.

NOAZX has an expense ratio of 0.47% compared with the category average of 0.87%.

Northern Short-Intermediate U.S. Government Fund (NSIUX - Free Report) aims to gain maximum total return with minimal reasonable risk. The fund invests the majority of its assets in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by its agencies. It buys and sells securities by using models that analyze and compare expected returns and assumed risks. NSIUX has returned 1.3% in the past three years.

As of September 2019, NSIUX held 13 issues, with 34.22% of its assets invested in the United States Treasury Notes 1.5%.