7 Top-Performing Large-Value Funds

Large-value funds have had a solid start to the new year. With artificial intelligence stocks slipping, these funds have emerged from the shadow of growth stocks. To screen for the top-performing funds in this category, we looked for those with the best returns over the last one-, three-, and five-year periods.

Seven large-value funds made it through the screen. Notably, six of those funds are actively managed.

• BNY Mellon Dynamic Value Fund DRGYX
• Fidelity High Dividend ETF FDVV
• Invesco Comstock Fund ICSFX
• JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund JLVMX
• Oakmark Fund OANMX
• Oakmark Select Fund OANLX
• Putnam Large Cap Value Fund PEQSX

Large-Value Funds Performance

Over the last 12 months, large-value funds have returned 17.86%. On an annualized rate, these funds have returned 8.53% over the last three years and 10.35% over the last five. That compares with the Morningstar US Market Index, which has returned 25.60% over the last 12 months, 12.42% per year over the last three years, and 14.39% per year over the last five years.

What Are Large-Value Funds?

Large-value portfolios invest primarily in large US stocks that are less expensive or growing more slowly than other large-cap stocks. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the US equity market are defined as large-cap. Value is defined based on low valuations (low price ratios and high dividend yields) and slow growth (low growth rates for earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow).

Screening for the Top-Performing Large-Value Funds

To find the best large-value funds, we looked at returns from the past one, three, and five years, using data available in Morningstar Direct. We screened for open-ended and exchange-traded funds in the top 25% of the category using their lowest-cost primary share classes for those periods. We also filtered for funds with a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze, Silver, or Gold. We excluded funds with assets under $100 million and analyst coverage that was not 100%. This left seven funds.

Because the screen was created with the lowest-cost share class for each fund, some may be listed with share classes that are not accessible to individual investors outside of retirement plans, or they may be aimed at institutional investors and require large minimum investments. The individual investor versions of those funds may carry higher fees, reducing returns to shareholders. In addition, Medalist Ratings may differ among the share classes of a fund.

BNY Mellon Dynamic Value Fund

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

Over the past 12 months, the $7.5 billion BNY Mellon Dynamic Value Fund rose 21.41%, while the average fund in its category rose 17.86%. The BNY Mellon fund, launched in July 2013, has climbed 13.47% over the past three years and 14.96% over the past five.

Morningstar analyst Drew Carter says: “The ‘value-with-a-catalyst’ process stands out as a somewhat aggressive yet consistently value-oriented approach. Quantitative screens trim the Russell 1000 Index’s constituents based on attractive valuations, strong fundamentals, and improving business environments (or catalysts), with specific criteria varying across industries. Analysts help look for potential future catalysts. The focus on catalysts shortens the investment horizon, leading to greater volatility. Ferguson also can hold major active positions within sectors, up to 10 percentage points of the index.”

Fidelity High Dividend ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

The $4.6 billion fund has climbed 21.78% over the past 12 months, outperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 17.86%. The Fidelity fund, launched in September 2016, has climbed 12.19% over the past three years and 13.12% over the past five.

Morningstar analyst Ryan Jackson says: “This index strategy takes a well-rounded approach to stock selection. Yield is the main consideration. That may give investors pause because the highest-yielding stocks tend to be some of the riskiest. The fund combats that drawback by incorporating payout ratio and dividend growth—signals of financial health—into stock selection. It also screens out firms with the worst payout ratios because companies that distribute too much of their profits can be left with little margin for error. Some sinking stocks will slip through the cracks, but these measures reject many of the market’s riskiest firms and breed a high-quality portfolio.”

Invesco Comstock Fund

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★

Over the past 12 months, the $12.4 billion Invesco Comstock Fund rose 20.52%, while the average fund in its category rose 17.86%. The Invesco fund, launched in September 2012, has climbed 11.17% over the past three years and 13.65% over the past five.

Morningstar analyst David Carey says: “The team has proved its ability to consistently execute its contrarian approach. The managers seek companies trading at cheap valuations relative to their industry peers based on a variety of metrics. If a stock meets their criteria, they’ll conduct rigorous fundamental research, meet with company management, and identify potential risks to their thesis to come up with a fair value estimate for each holding. This thorough research gives the managers ample confidence to invest wherever they find value, which has often led to large sector bets. For instance, the managers loaded up on energy firms in the late 2010s, which soaked up 19.5% of the portfolio’s assets in June 2018. This bet eventually paid off in 2021 and 2022 when energy prices rose and helped the strategy outperform the index and nearly all peers.”

JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★

Over the past 12 months, the $5.1 billion fund has gained 20.97%, while the average fund in its category is up 17.86%. The JPMorgan fund, launched in November 2010, has climbed 10.18% over the past three years and gained 13.61% over the past five years.

Morningstar senior analyst Todd Trubey says: “JPMorgan Large Cap Value features a veteran manager plying a proven classic value approach, earning Above Average People and Process ratings as its analyst coverage begins. Lead manager Scott Blasdell has been in charge here since April 2013. His value investing career goes back to Wellington Management, where he worked with John Neff, the longtime captain of the Vanguard Windsor fund. Blasdell came to JP Morgan in 1999. There he’s traversed the tech wreck of 2000-02, the global financial crisis of 2007-09, and other debacles. Those plunges have bred Blasdell’s belief that valuation holds huge weight—especially when enthusiasm or gloom are elevated and pervasive.”

Oakmark Fund

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Gold
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

Over the past 12 months, the $23.5 billion fund has gained 21.29%, while the average fund in its category is up 17.86%. The Oakmark fund, launched in November 2016, has climbed 12.49% over the past three years and 16.42% over the past five.

Morningstar associate director Tony Thomas says: “For the Harris team, value investing isn’t stale. Granted, the group has faithfully followed key principles for years, including hunting for stocks trading well below their value estimates. But here, finding cheap stocks involves much more than simply looking at price metrics. Harris analysts adapt their opinions based on what they think matters most in companies’ respective industries and markets. This flexibility allows them to comb through traditional value areas such as financials and energy while making timely forays into trendier areas. For example, Nygren and his colleagues saw value in Google parent Alphabet GOOGL/GOOG in late 2019 even though it was trading at a robust 30 times earnings. Alphabet’s stock has since more than doubled in value, with the company’s earnings growth more than keeping pace. Alphabet was Oakmark’s top holding in September 2024.”

Oakmark Select Fund

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★

The $7.1 billion fund has climbed 20.76% over the past 12 months, outperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 17.86%. The Oakmark fund, launched in November 2016, has climbed 11.66% over the past three years and 14.78% over the past five years.

Thomas says: “In some ways, this strategy resembles that of Oakmark fund, which manager Bill Nygren has run since 2000. Both strategies seek cheap stocks that can grow their per-share value under the guidance of effective management. They’re not bound by mere price metrics (such as P/E) when determining value—instead, the team considers a company’s worth from various angles with reference to the unique features of a business or its industry. Yet while Oakmark spreads its investments among as many as 60 stocks, this offering generally has just 20-25. As a result, individual position sizes can get pretty big—up to 10%—and what’s more, this strategy sometimes ranges farther into smaller-cap companies than Oakmark.”

Putnam Large Cap Value Fund

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

Over the past 12 months, the $35.8 billion Putnam Large Cap Value Fund rose 22.79%, while the average fund in its category rose 17.86%. The Franklin Templeton fund, launched in July 2012, has climbed 12.87% over the past three years and 13.79% over the past five.

Morningstar analyst Tony Thorn says: “The managers employ an effective mix of quantitative and qualitative research. They use a six-factor relative value screen to generate ideas, but they’re not beholden to the model’s recommendations. The managers also rely on the central analysts for additional ideas and qualitative insights not captured in the model, such as earnings and cash flow durability as well as management quality. The managers carefully construct the roughly 70- to 90-stock portfolio to ensure that stock-picking, rather than sector bets or factor tilts, drives performance.”