Which fund families are the best of the best, and which of their funds stand out from the rest? Kiplinger's came up with a list of 12 top-notch fund shops: three "department stores" and nine boutiques.

On the department store side, Kiplinger's cites Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Vanguard, picking out bond, index and retirement funds as exemplary, among others (ironically, two of the Vanguard funds pointed out, Wellington and Windsor II, just recently pseudo-closed to investors). Among the boutiques, the list includes: Artisan Partners, Brideway, Buffalo, Dodge & Cox, Harbor, Longleaf Partners, Marsico, Masters' Select and Oakmark.

Kiplinger's picked its "dandy dozen" for a variety of reasons.

"You could ... describe these families as most trusted. They treat you as partners as well as clients," Kiplinger's said. "Their costs are reasonable. Their long-term results are above average. They're willing to close funds to new investors lest they grow too big." 

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