Founded by John C. Bogle in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. With around $4 trillion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2016), the company offers about 180 domestic funds and 190 funds for foreign markets. It offers asset management and financial planning services to clients throughout the globe.

Vanguard stands out from the other mutual fund companies because it is owned by the funds themselves. The company believes that this structure helps management focus better on shareholder interests. Among the advantages Vanguard claims to offer, low-cost and no-load are the most notable.

Below we share with you three top-rated Vanguard 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 Vanguard funds, their Zacks Rank and past performance.

Vanguard Growth Index Investor (VIGRX - Free Report) seeks long-term capital growth by investing in equity securities of large-cap companies. VIGRX employs an indexing investment approach. The fund aims to track the performance of the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index by investing most of its assets in stocks that make up the index. Vanguard Growth Index has a one-year annualized return of 16.2%.

Walter Nejman is one of the fund managers of VIGRX since 2016.

Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Investor (VASGX - Free Report) invests in other Vanguard mutual funds with asset allocation of nearly 80% in equity securities and about 20% in debt securities. VASGX seeks appreciation of income and capital for the long run. Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Investor has a one-year annualized return of 13.5%.

VASGX has an expense ratio of 0.15% compared with the category average of 0.87%.

Vanguard US Value Investor (VUVLX - Free Report) seeks growth of capital and income for the long run. VUVLX invests all of its assets in undervalued companies having low price/earnings (P/E) ratios. The fund focuses on acquiring stocks of large and mid-cap companies having impressive growth potential and favourable valuations. Vanguard US Value Investor has a one-year annualized return of 19%.

As of December, 2016, VUVLX held 255 issues, with 3.16% of its assets invested in Exxon Mobil Corp.