Investors interested in safer returns from stocks available at discounted prices may consider large-cap value mutual funds. While large-cap funds usually provide safer options than small- or mid-cap funds, mutual funds investing in value stocks have the potential to deliver higher returns and exhibit lower volatility than their growth and blend counterparts.

Large-cap funds generally invest in securities of companies with market capitalization of more than $10 billion. These funds have exposure to large-cap stocks that are expected to provide a long-term performance history and assure more stability than mid or small caps.

Value funds, on the other hand, generally invest in stocks that tend to trade at a price lower than their fundamentals (i.e. earnings, book value and debt-equity) and pay out dividends. Value stocks are expected to outperform the growth ones across all asset classes when considered on a long-term investment horizon and are less susceptible to trending markets.

Below we share with you three top-rated, large-cap value mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of large-cap value mutual funds, their Zacks Rank and past performance.

JPMorgan Large Cap Value C (OLVCX - Free Report) invests a large portion of its assets in securities of large-cap companies that include common stocks and debt and preferred stocks that can be converted to common stock. Large-cap companies are those that have market capitalization equivalent to those listed on the Russell 1000 Value Index at the time of purchase. OLVCX offers dividends quarterly and capital gains annually. JPMorgan Large Cap Value C has a three-year annualized return of 12.6%.

Scott Blasdell is the fund manager since 2013.

VALIC Company II Large Cap Value (VACVX - Free Report) seeks higher total return than the Russell 1000 Value Index. VACVX invests a large share of its assets in equity securities of large-cap companies with market capitalization more than the smallest member of the Russell 1000 Index. VALIC Company II Large Cap Value has a three-year annualized return of 9.4%.

As of December 2016, VACVX held 122 issues, with 3.74% of its assets invested in Berkshire Hathaway Inc B (BRK-B).

Vanguard US Value Investor (VUVLX - Free Report) invests all of its assets in undervalued companies having low price/earnings (P/E) ratios. VUVLX focuses on acquiring stocks of large and mid-cap companies having impressive growth potential and favorable valuations. The Vanguard US Value Investor fund has a three-year annualized return of 10.1%.

VUVLX has an expense ratio of 0.23% compared with the category average of 1.07%.