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3 BlackRock Mutual Funds That Stand Out in 2025

By Zacks Equity Research | September 17, 2025, 9:24 AM

BlackRock Inc. BLK, founded in 1988 and headquartered in New York, provides investment, advisory and risk management services across multiple asset classes, including equities, fixed income, cash management, alternatives and real estate. The company employs more than 19,000 people and operates in 42 countries worldwide.

BlackRock reported having $12.53 trillion worth of assets under management as of June 30, 2025. It reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $12.05 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.66. Revenues in the quarter came in at $5.42 billion, narrowly missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.43 billion. The figure, however, increased 13% year over year.

BlackRock has recently undertaken a major overhaul of its senior leadership structure. The firm expanded its global executive committee by adding around 20 senior leaders, including Sarah Melvin, Mike Pyle, Stacey Mullin and Jaime Magyera, while establishing a management committee tasked with guiding its long-term strategy and vision. These changes are designed to enhance agility, deepen leadership capacity and strengthen the company’s positioning amid shifting competitive, regulatory and climate-related pressures.

The firm has also resumed regular “stewardship engagement” with portfolio companies after a temporary pause, responding to updated U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidance requiring greater transparency and accountability in how large asset managers influence governance, climate and social issues across their holdings.

For investors considering mutual funds, BlackRock remains a standout for its breadth, active management and cost-efficiency. Its funds, including target-date solutions, automatically adjust asset allocation to align with retirement timelines, offering a disciplined, hands-off approach to long-term planning. While passive ETFs continue to gain popularity, mutual funds still play a critical role in meeting targeted financial objectives by providing professional oversight, tax benefits and structured planning support.

Overall, BlackRock is well-positioned in today’s evolving markets. The firm continues to deliver solid results supported by disciplined inflows and a focus on strategic innovation. Its mutual funds combine diversification, ease of management and cost-effective access to global opportunities, qualities that make them attractive to investors seeking both stability and long-term growth.

Hence, astute investors should consider such funds at present. Mutual funds, in general, reduce transaction costs and diversify portfolios without an array of commission charges that are mostly associated with stock purchases (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).

We have thus selected three mutual funds that boast a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), have positive three-year and five-year annualized returns and minimum initial investments within $5000, as well as carry a low expense ratio.

BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Growth CSGEX usually commits at least the majority of its net assets, together with any investment-related borrowings, to U.S. small-cap growth equity securities and to derivatives that offer exposure to these securities or to market risk factors linked to them.

Raffaele Savi has been the lead manager of CSGEX since March 2017. The three top holdings for CSGEX are Credo Tech (1.5%), Sprouts Farmers Market (1.3%) and Cubesmart (1.3%).

CSGEX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 12.3% and 7.2%, respectively, and its net expense ratio is 0.75%. CSGEX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.

BlackRock Balanced Investor MDCPX allocates its assets across equities, fixed-income securities and derivatives, with investment choices guided by the relative attractiveness of each category. The fund is designed to maintain at least 25% of its assets in equities and at least 25% in senior fixed-income securities, including U.S. government bonds, corporate debt and mortgage- or asset-backed securities.

Raffaele Savi has been the lead manager of MDCPX since June 2017. The three top holdings for MDCPX are Apple (2.5%), Microsoft (2.5%) and Nvidia (2.4%).

MDCPX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 12.9% and 8.5%, respectively, and its net expense ratio is 0.77%. MDCPX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.

BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Group Investor BMCAX aims to achieve long-term capital growth by investing in U.S. large-cap equity securities and derivatives with comparable economic traits. For investment purposes, the advisors define large-cap as securities with market capitalizations falling within the range of companies listed in the Russell 1000 Growth Index at the time of purchase.

Raffaele Savi has been the lead manager of BMCAX since June 2017. The three top holdings for BMCAX are Microsoft (9.3%), Apple (7.7%) and Nvidia (7.6%).

BMCAX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 23.9% and 13.6%, respectively, and its net expense ratio is 0.87%. BMCAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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