May's Top-Rated Stock Mutual Funds

The best rated open-end stock mutual funds in May each found their own method for bucking the downward trend of the overall stock market. Below are the top 10 funds that beat all other stock funds we rate without completely abandoning the stock market.

The best rated open-end stock mutual fund this month is the Permanent Portfolio(PRPFX Quote) rated A+ combining good returns with low volatility. This fund has accumulated nearly $2.9 billion in assets by sticking with its stated strategy for the last quarter century.

The Permanent Portfolio attempts to preserve and increase shareholders' long-term purchasing power by diversifying among six categories: gold bullion, silver bullion, Swiss franc denominated securities, inflation sensitive real estate & natural resource stocks, aggressive growth stocks, and U.S. government securities. In the year ending May 31, gold rose 34.22% while silver polished up returns of 25.64%.

Over the same period, Swiss franc investments appreciated 17.57% against the U.S. dollar before including the interest paid by the Swiss bonds. ...