Those with a high risk appetite as well as an interest in growth and value investing, may chose small-cap blend mutual funds to boost their portfolio. While blend funds, also known as “hybrid funds,” aim for value appreciation by capital gains, small-cap funds are expected to have higher growth prospects than their large and medium counterparts. Blend funds provide significant exposure to both growth and value stocks and owe their origin to a graphical representation of a fund’s equity style box.

Meanwhile, funds investing the majority of their assets in securities of companies with market capitalization lower than $2 billion are generally considered small-cap mutual funds. Though funds investing in small-cap stocks are believed to have more exposure to market volatility than large or medium ones, they are also expected to provide diversification across sectors and companies. Moreover, small-cap companies are believed to be less affected by a global downturn thanks to less international exposure.

Below we share with you four top-rated, small-cap blend mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all small-cap blend mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of small-cap blend funds .

Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Investor (VSTCX) invests the lion’s share of its assets in equity securities of small-cap companies with a domestic focus. VSTCX invests in companies that are belied to have impressive growth potential and favorable valuations. VSTCX is expected to maintain a risk level identical to the MSCI US Small Cap 1750 Index. The Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Investor fund has a three-year annualized return of 17.8%.

VSTCX has an expense ratio of 0.38% as compared to the category average of 1.23%.

Fidelity Advisor Small Cap A (FSCDX - MF report) seeks capital appreciation over the long run. FSCDX invests a large chunk of its assets in companies having market capitalization within the range of either the Russell 2000 Index or the S&P Small-Cap 600 Index. FSCDX uses the “blend” strategy to invest in common stocks of companies. The Fidelity Advisor Small Cap A fund has a three-year annualized return of 16.4%.

James M. Harmon is the fund manager of FSCDX since 2005.

Principal Small-Cap S&P 600 Index R3 (PSSMX - MF report) invests the majority of its assets in firms listed in the Standard & Poor’s Small-Cap 600 Index. PSSMX also invests in index futures and equity ETFs in order to reduce tracking error by gaining exposure to the index. The Principal Small-Cap S&P 600 Index R3 fund has a three-year annualized return of 15.7%.

As of September 2015, PSSMX held 606 issues, with 3.05% of its assets invested in Russell 2000 Mini Dec15.

QS Batterymarch US Capitalization Equity Portfolio FI (LGSCX - MF report) seeks long-term growth of capital. LGSCX invests the major portion of its assets in securities of small-cap companies. LGSCX primarily invests in domestic companies or those which operate predominantly in the U.S. LGSCX may also invest in non-US firms through ADRs. The QS Batterymarch US Small Cap Equity FI fund has a three-year annualized return of 16.4%.

LGSCX has an expense ratio of 1.20% as compared to the category average of 1.23%.