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Core Foreign Funds

These top-rated funds could be solid anchors for investors’ overseas exposure.
To home in on some solid international anchors, we screened for international-stock funds (foreign large-cap categories) that Morningstar’s fund analyst team has rated Silver or Gold, meaning they are poised to outperform their peer funds over a full market cycle. These funds make solid core holdings, given that they invest in the world’s biggest companies. Depending on their strategies, they may have more or less exposure to smaller foreign firms or emerging markets, so investors may want to supplement one of these options with a top-rated fund from our emerging-markets or foreign small/mid-cap categories.
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Name
Ticker
Morningstar Category
Morningstar Rating for Funds
Overall
Total Return
1 Year
Total Return
3 Year
Total Return
5 Year
AQR International Momentum Style NAIONXForeign Large Growth20.55%3.08%8.00%
Vkmmjncq Tzzwx Hwsftvlxwczhs Krrw 974-V4HYQXXForeign Large Growth8.72%1.81%
Rpjhfzyt Ysnkx Dvpxszmlzysvb Mmtw 241-D9MLGCJForeign Large Growth9.33%2.17%
Drrnczxm Lwgzl Bgyfyzjvjyghr Bpyg 812C-5YDYLNForeign Large Growth8.62%1.76%
Dwdynsgk Jpmzv Cfsvdmvgjgxxx Lbqn N-XGHFDMForeign Large Growth12.12%1.40%
Mlyylxdz Rlvcm Qbskhlxnhgsss Mxnr NQWNWXForeign Large Growth9.20%1.77%
Xdxch Gnjknkkpnvvfx BngldjXGCPXForeign Large Blend15.31%3.41%9.48%
DNR Vftgvgpwlpyph QskqzgrrqlZPXJDForeign Large Blend15.59%6.78%8.03%
Ztprgdvz Ndpxscbgfkl KyttzqdfbryvyBVGFPMForeign Large Growth14.27%1.54%8.54%
Xybsqkrc Lhnvkppdkjznt DshrkzdQLTWFForeign Large Growth18.91%2.66%9.79%
Nkmbzhmr Thpvbqwlhmphr NhqyzhscJPJTKDForeign Large Blend16.75%3.42%7.82%
Dthpnjty Jvyssyspbydmt MyyxtgvdFYCQNForeign Large Value20.65%6.82%9.36%
Zrrwgjtd CpyxmLLCTForeign Large Growth14.66%2.75%9.05%
Dnpkbsgw GRK Gnmyjzsfcgdlt WkkltXSJHBBForeign Large Blend13.52%3.53%7.78%
Btynrshh PFZ Jmjyrdnhblhdz Tlw LQFNKForeign Large Growth21.16%4.81%
Jfqhvbvr KJT Nmlwvwmbfsxdk Qnz MGCFPForeign Large Growth10.90%3.38%
Mjjknckw Hgjhkt Cdmncvsllvwxq VkccxGTWBNForeign Large Blend14.07%3.29%7.80%
Mcpyjszy Txkth Csxlgcqrqtrdc MyzplsVBJFForeign Large Blend17.82%2.35%9.60%
Hygbsxx Pfltc CWL Qsytz Jmrm Xqbx ZptxVHPQWMForeign Large Growth34.28%8.79%12.99%
Vfkzgpd Rwgfn YRP Htlxp Ymys Mmcw SXQSNYForeign Large Growth34.51%8.93%13.15%
Yffxybrx Zrgspwsfz Jwghtmbwfhmcw Wjr JPSVForeign Large Blend14.61%1.58%10.40%
FMvxtwtm Nbdpxfvhptk Fvlws Tbym YLXXMFYForeign Large Value20.62%7.16%10.05%
Hqvmsvx & Ptdmnt Jppbylpt Tfymhj WKLLQLXForeign Large Growth13.61%−0.96%9.53%
MlP Flxttcrjblrjq HXLLSSPForeign Large Blend22.37%5.38%8.92%
Wpttxt Pyfwdkmzltxkm Dl PrnCYNFPFForeign Large Blend14.61%3.86%7.92%
Wcpffl Lwclp Ywhm Sk Kc NTVVTForeign Large Value16.21%5.17%9.25%
R. Dqwx Nqlsc Hjtxztzmypybl Bsryz MCDRLSForeign Large Value21.55%5.81%9.19%
T. Msyv Cftgp Kdnncgqvjlzpg Stycj Tf WRPMNJVForeign Large Value19.56%6.07%9.12%
Sdzztspy Lnjgbnkbwdfyw Bmtf Fpkkl GncxPCRMForeign Large Blend20.27%4.03%
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List Criteria

Foreign Large-Cap Stocks

These funds seek capital appreciation by investing in the stocks of big international companies, which are generally considered “core” overseas investments. Large-cap foreign stocks have market capitalizations greater than $5 billion and come in three flavors: Value, Growth, and Blend. Value is defined based on low price/book and price/cash-flow ratios relative to the MSCI EAFE Index. Growth is defined based on high price/book and price/cash-flow ratios relative to the MSCI EAFE Index. The blend style is assigned to funds where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. These funds typically will have less than 20% of assets invested in U.S. stocks.

Gold- and Silver-Rated Funds

The Medalist Rating for funds reflects our forward-looking assessment of a fund’s ability to outperform its peer group (funds in the same category) and benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. We assign the ratings on a five-tier scale with three positive (Medalist) ratings of Gold, Silver, and Bronze; a Neutral rating; and a Negative rating. If a fund receives a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rating, it means that Morningstar analysts expect it to outperform over a full market cycle of at least five years.

4- and 5-Star Funds

The Morningstar Rating for Funds (known as the star rating) compares a fund’s risk-adjusted returns to other funds in the same category. (“Risk-adjusted” simply means the star rating also considers the amount of volatility a fund took on in achieving its returns. Given two funds that achieved the same return, investors would generally prefer the less volatile one.) After adjusting for risk and accounting for sales charges, funds are assigned 1 to 5 stars based on how well they've performed for an apples-to-apples comparison to similar funds. Within each Morningstar Category, the top 10% of funds receive 5 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. Funds are rated for up to three time periods-three, five, and 10 years-and these ratings are combined to produce an overall rating. Ratings are quantitative, based entirely on a mathematical evaluation of past performance. They’re a useful tool for identifying funds worthy of further research, but shouldn’t be considered buy or sell signals by themselves.

Open to New Investment

All the funds on this list are open for new investment. Sometimes mutual funds will close to new investors-or even restrict existing fundholders from investing more money-when the fund is receiving more money than the management team believes it can invest effectively. Closing a fund under these circumstances is usually considered investor-friendly, as funds that get too big can sometimes suffer performance problems later. Even though new investors can’t get into closed funds (so such funds are not included here), closed funds that are rated Gold, Silver, or Bronze may be worth putting on a watch list.

Share Class Exclusions Applied

Many fund families offer multiple versions of the same fund but with variations on the sales fees that are charged and/or investor qualifications. In some cases, certain share classes may be for institutions (such as company retirement funds) or otherwise have a high investment minimum. We've limited our list to funds that are primarily used by and available to individual, or retail, investors.

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