It is never too late to invest in mutual funds for retirement. As such, if you plan to invest in some of the best funds, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank can provide you with valuable guidance.

The easiest way to judge a mutual fund's quality over time is by analyzing its performance, diversification, and fees. Using the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of over 19,000 mutual funds, we've identified three outstanding mutual funds that are ideally suited to help long-term investors pursue and achieve their retirement investing goals.

Let's take a look at some of our top-ranked mutual funds with the lowest fees.

Goldman Sachs Large Cap Growth Insights R (GLCRX Quick QuoteGLCRX - Free Report) : 1.21% expense ratio and 0.52% management fee. GLCRX is a Large Cap Growth mutual fund, and these funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers. GLCRX has achieved five-year annual returns of an astounding 15.4%.

Fidelity Advisor Energy Fund A (FANAX Quick QuoteFANAX - Free Report) . Expense ratio: 1.01%. Management fee: 0.53%. FANAX is a Sector - Energy mutual fund, which encompasses a wide range of vastly changing and vitally important industries throughout this massive global sector. This fund has managed to produce a robust 13.17% over the last five years.

John Hancock Disciplined Value A (JVLAX Quick QuoteJVLAX - Free Report) is an attractive large-cap allocation. JVLAX is a part of the Large Cap Value category, and invests in equities with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. JVLAX has an expense ratio of 1.02%, management fee of 0.61%, and annual returns of 12.22% over the past five years.

We hope that your investment advisor (if you use one) has you invested in one or all of the top-ranked mutual funds we've reviewed. But if that isn't the case, it might be time to have a conversation or reconsider this vitally important relationship.