While real estate mutual funds don’t lead in price appreciation ... the real estate fund category also boasts a 4.99% average annual return over the past 10 years versus 12.69% for the S&P ...

Just 8.2% of large-cap domestic mutual funds outperformed the S&P 500 over the past 20 years. The odds are better over shorter time horizons, but ultimately the index seems to have a clear advantage.

There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is BlackRock Global Allocation A (MDLOX).