A small-cap value fund is a good choice for investors seeking diversification across sectors and companies, and focusing on gaining exposure to stocks trading at a discount. Investors with a high-risk appetite tend to invest in these funds. Small-cap funds generally invest in companies having a market cap of less than $2 billion. The companies, smaller in size, offer growth potential and can subsequently see an increase in market capitalization.Value stocks are those that trade at a price lower than their fundamentals (i.e., earnings, book value, debt equity). It is a common practice to invest in value funds for income or yield.However, not all value funds comprise only those companies that primarily use their earnings to pay out dividends. Investors interested in picking value funds for yield should check the mutual fund yield, which is the total dividend payout divided by the value of the mutual fund’s shares.Below, we share with you three top-ranked small-cap value mutual funds, namely, Bridgeway Small Cap Value Fd BRSVX, Hotchkis & Wiley Small Cap Value Fund HWSIX and Invesco Small Cap Value Fd VSCAX. Each has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of Small Cap Value mutual funds.Bridgeway Small Cap Value Fd seeks a long-term total return on capital by capital appreciation. BRSVX invests the majority of its net assets in stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American and Nasdaq in the small-cap value category.Bridgeway Small Cap Value Fd has a three-year annualized return of 23.3%. As of June 2022, BRSVX held 124 issues, with 2% of its assets invested in ArcBest Corporation.Hotchkis & Wiley Small Cap Value Fund seeks capital appreciation and invests the majority of its net assets plus borrowings in equity securities of small-cap companies. HWSIX refers to the Russell 2000 Index for categorizing companies as small cap.Hotchkis & Wiley Small Cap Value Fund has a three-year annualized return of 15%. HWSIX has an expense ratio of 1.06% compared with the category average of 1.16%.Invesco Small Cap Value Fd seeks long-term capital growth by investing the majority of its net assets in the under-valued securities of small-cap companies. VSCAX invests primarily in common stock.Invesco Small Cap Value Fd has a three-year annualized return of 18.7%. Jonathan Mueller has been one of the fund managers of VSCAX since 2010.To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all small-cap value mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of small cap value mutual funds.Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >> Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpView All Zacks #1 Ranked Mutual FundsWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (VSCAX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (BRSVX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (HWSIX): Fund Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research