The Permanent Portfolio continues to be a steady, consistent winner over the long run. Its targeted mix of 20% gold, 5% silver, 10% Swiss franc assets, 15% real estate and natural resources, 15% aggressive-growth stocks and 35% U.S. government debt is designed to preserve the long-term purchasing power of fund holders. With the U.S. dollar falling again, investments in gold, silver and Swiss francs are looking up, and so are the prospects for this fund.

The second best rated stock mutual fund is the 1st Source Monogram Long/Short Fund , which gained 3.37% in August. This fund buys stocks like Wal-Mart , Waste Management , Johnson & Johnson and Alcoa that it considers undervalued while it sells short stocks focused on the bank, REIT, retail and technology sectors.

The third-ranked fund, Pinnacle Value Fund , is also rated A-plus. At year end, the fund was defensively positioned with 58% cash and 40% equities. Its top holdings include Argan , MVC Capital and First Acceptance Corp .

Here's a table showing a breakdown of the TheStreet.com Ratings' take on these three funds, along with the seven other open-end mutual funds that make up the top 10.

10 Best Rated Stock Mutual Funds
Fund (Ticker) Rating	Total Return 3 Year %	Total Return 1 Year %	Total Return 1 Month %	Objective
Permanent Portfolio Fund (PRPFX) A+	10.79	9.81	-2.47	Asset Allocation - Domestic
1st Source Monogram Long/Short (FMLSX) A+	8.25	5.43	3.37	Asset Allocation - Domestic
Pinnacle Value Fund (PVFIX) A+	8.42	-2.73	2.34	Growth - Domestic
J Hancock Balanced A (SVBAX) A+	11.18	5.15	-1.00	Balanced - Domestic
Forester Value Fund (FVALX) A+	3.38	6.56	1.22	Equity Income
BBH Core Select Fund Class N (BBTEX) A+	8.42	2.49	2.17	Growth - Domestic
Merk Hard Currency Fund Investor (MERKX) A+	9.05	9.14	-5.61	Sector - Financial Services
TFS Market Neutral Fund (TFSMX) A+	13.29	12.90	-0.27	Equity Income
Greenspring Fund (GRSPX) A+	7.60	3.72	3.53	Balanced - Domestic
Aston Montag & Caldwell Balanced N (MOBAX) A+	5.59	3.57	0.96	Balanced - Domestic
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

For more information, check out an explanation of our ratings.