The healthcare sector is one of the most desirable avenues for parking investments when markets are headed south. The demand for such services usually remains unchanged even during an economic downturn and investments in the sector provide sufficient protection to the capital invested. Several pharmaceutical companies also provide regular dividends, which can help mitigate losses from falling share prices. Health care mutual funds provide the perfect avenue for investors looking to invest in this sector.

Below we share with you 4 top-ranked healthcare mutual funds . Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and we expect the fund to outperform its peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all healthcare mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of healthcare funds .

Fidelity Select Medical Equipment & Systems (FSMEX – MF report) invests a major portion of its assets in companies that are primarily involved in medical equipment and devices and related technologies sector. FSMEX focuses on acquiring common stocks of companies by analyzing factors including financial strength and economic condition. FSMEX invests in both U.S. and non-U.S. companies. The Fidelity Select Medical Equipment & Systems fund has a three-year annualized return of 17.6%.

As of December 2015, FSMEX held 54 issues with 23.67% of its assets invested in Medtronic PLC.

Hartford Healthcare HLS IB (HBGHX – MF report) seeks long-term growth of capital. HBGHX invests a large share of its assets in securities of both U.S. and non-U.S. health care companies. HBGHX invests in securities of companies of any size located in a wide range of countries. HBGHX is expected to maintain a cash balance of not more than 10% of its assets. The Hartford Healthcare HLS IB fund has a three-year annualized return of 19.8%.

HBGHX has an expense ratio of 1.13% as compared to the category average of 1.36%.