Americans are still showing confidence in the economy, even as inflation remains high and job openings and hiring continue to decline. At the same time, rising gasoline prices are adding further strain. Consumer confidence saw a marginal rise in March, though worries about the broader economic outlook persist, especially with growing geopolitical tensions.
Given this situation, investors may consider investing in large-cap value funds, such as VALIC Company I Systematic Value Fund VBCVX, Northern Income Equity NOIEX and Bridge Builder Large Cap Value Fund BBVLX.
The consumer confidence index rose 0.8 points sequentially in March to 91.8, surpassing analysts’ expectations of 88, according to the Conference Board. Despite this unexpected improvement, overall consumer sentiment remains subdued.
Inflation expectations over the next 12 months climbed to 5.2% from 4.5% in February, marking the highest level since May 2025. Meanwhile, weaker job data contributed to the cautious outlook. Job openings fell by 358,000 in February, while layoffs increased significantly. The job openings rate slipped to 4.2% from 4.4%, and hiring dropped by 498,000 to 4.849 million. The unemployment rate also edged up to 4.4% from 4.3% a month earlier.
Trade pressures linked to tariffs under President Donald Trump have been influencing commodity prices. In addition, oil prices have surged by more than 50% over the past month due to ongoing tensions involving Iran.
As a result, Wall Street has remained volatile through much of the first quarter, and these economic and geopolitical concerns may continue to drive market uncertainty in the near term.
We’ve identified three large-cap value mutual funds that have given impressive annualized returns over 3-year and 5-year periods. These funds also hold a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), require an initial investment of no more than $5,000 and have a low expense ratio.
The question here is: why should investors consider mutual funds? Reduced transaction costs and diversification of portfolio without several commission charges that are associated with stock purchases are primarily why one should be parking money in mutual funds (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).
VALIC Company I Systematic Value Fund primarily invests in equity securities of U.S. large- and mid-cap companies, selected on their inclusion on the Russell 1000 Value Index, which identifies companies with value characteristics such as lower price-to-book ratios and lower expected growth values.
