fuzzy2007

With thousands of options to choose from, selecting the right mutual fund can be tough. While past performance is no guarantee of future success, one of the most proven strategies is selecting funds with solid long-term track records. Managers of these funds tend to invest for the long haul instead of making shortsighted bets or chasing the latest market trend.

Using our exclusive U.S. News Mutual Fund Score, we've compiled a list of the best long-term performers in some of the most popular mutual fund categories. Over the past 12 months, every fund on the list has received an average U.S. News score of 7 or higher. Our score is based on the ratings of some of the mutual fund industry's best-known analysts, including Morningstar, Lipper, Standard & Poor's, TheStreet, and Zacks.

To gauge performance, we screened our database to find funds with the highest 10-year trailing returns as of the end of March. Each fund on the list finished in the top quartile of its respective Morningstar category, with the exception of a few index funds, which we've included as options for investors who favor a passive investing approach.

[See top-rated funds by category ranked by U.S. News Mutual Fund Score.]

Since high fees can eat away at long-term returns, the funds selected for this year's list charge annual expenses that are less than their respective category average. In the name of affordability, the funds also have minimum investments of $25,000 or less.

So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home.