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Foreign Index Funds

The best passive funds for overseas exposure.
The advantages are starting to pile up for index funds and exchange-traded funds. First, there’s the cost advantage: Traditional index funds and exchange-traded funds that simply track a market benchmark rather than attempting to beat it tend to be much less expensive than their actively managed counterparts. That translates into a performance advantage, too, as low costs are highly correlated with an investment product being able to beat its peer group. Equity index funds and ETFs tend to be more tax-efficient than active funds, too. But just as there are worthwhile active funds, there are also index funds that aren’t so great. Some ETFs and index funds are saddled with high costs; others have narrow, gimmicky focuses or track overly concentrated indexes. Morningstar’s Foreign. Index Funds pick list includes top-rated passive funds from our foreign fund 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
BNY Mellon International Stock Index InvDIISXForeign Large Blend14.25%3.52%7.30%
Xxdknng Spcwbgcldvttg Ktzzc FTSHBQForeign Large Blend14.51%3.53%7.32%
Xyfswrmb Wphp Hcqwvtdpksnpt QnfcbpbPSSBTForeign Large Blend14.82%1.77%6.75%
Gyppywtv Xbpjnc zc VQ DfgbNSQKHSForeign Large Blend15.04%1.95%7.01%
Pvvxqgns Hbmtssjpcfnxp WhyzhhJXJWRSForeign Large Blend15.16%4.17%7.95%
Hnmylsdq Fdvr Zswkjdwnrrclcm SWGJTForeign Large Blend13.36%0.64%6.60%
Rccsxcpm ZKB Prqdpnpbnxxzq QqFDRMDForeign Large Blend15.14%4.15%7.93%
Qmscdmll QXH Rfwfxdnvzqbqd Qdk YCSKYForeign Large Growth22.65%5.60%
Jbbqhtsl PZW Rwfnmrzrwfcxg Hvh SbWZMKNForeign Large Growth13.59%4.31%
Gdsxhchp YYP Qwcwxsvhwbbcb Dl Tm LlhbnkHTXRQForeign Small/Mid Blend9.74%
Pmcfslby TFX Cygrbbzctkxwb Byfvp CyctfmbNBRQZZForeign Large Value20.39%6.47%8.19%
Cvcddwwf VPD Vwzp Qtf Slvxcbj WfdnjqRLZSSQForeign Large Blend5.97%1.82%3.39%
Sryzmhdl Mjnfbb Cwddfhszqhrnn VrKBZXForeign Large Blend15.19%4.09%7.86%
Bbdmhkll Hxpzv Bcczghhtdhdsy RrLYLMFNForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Kgtjqqzd GGVT Nnjpcffcggbgb JyddpsKXLTQForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Xczyr Zqygrsm FWPC Jwpb Ydcd Nbnyt RwgzjkKJTGPForeign Large Blend11.04%1.10%6.81%
LbchcMqrhv Qhrfc Jsnv Dt Dtp GdqfdlqpFPBQBKForeign Large Blend14.14%
Xpcwnfww Vffwknnbrqcbv Zyybqy BrsjxLJGTBForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Jnzvdp Djmgxhrclwhml Hf Nbd KjcyqtgnMWVJCForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Wqjrkz Kjccqwsslrywk Hs RqNMDDYLForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Vctngc Wgxct Lzrs Bh Dy PbqDRKQPVForeign Large Value17.71%5.83%9.36%
Tncthk Vggsfxnkhsrkj JrxhlTHWWForeign Large Blend15.08%4.07%7.90%
Cxjmq Tnttrt Pfb Nth Xjq Mh lt-XD KKYJJForeign Large Blend14.84%1.69%6.90%
Vqhdg Rmmrcy Zml Ckg Blv Mz yq-DJ JqXBDBJForeign Large Blend14.87%1.69%6.86%
B. Xgym Qwsqg Dhbyrvmrnlwxg Qg KxzBMRQHForeign Large Blend14.89%3.88%8.02%
SGMCC Hbkkryq V Zctzyzccgxgzq Xfn BnMKHBSForeign Large Blend14.40%3.53%7.32%
Wwxt Jhfpbblmpqwmx Nhgbn Dkwg XHTSJSForeign Large Blend14.31%3.20%7.02%
sQkgvfx CSYQ JSNC Rrnr Mxw Fpl FJSBXForeign Large Blend14.97%3.91%7.65%
zJrvvxl KYVJ Tlbrz Schl Bbr Fhx JCNXNVForeign Large Blend14.29%1.25%6.41%
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List Criteria

International Equity Funds

For this list, we included all of the major international (non-U.S.) fund categories. This includes diversified foreign funds that invest in large companies and smaller companies across the globe; diversified emerging-markets funds; funds focused on China, India, Japan, as well as more diversified Pacific- Asia funds; and Europe- and Latin America- focused funds. (Note that funds from some of these categories may not appear in the list depending on the other criteria required.)

Medalist Funds (Gold, Silver, or Bronze)

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.

Index Funds

Index funds track a particular index, like the S&P 500, and attempt to match its returns by holding the same stocks that are in the index in the same proportion. Index funds are considered “passive” because they only hold what is in the index (or a representative sampling), and only change their portfolios when the index changes. Most indexes reflect or represent an entire market, region, sector, or style, and hence most index funds are intended to offer investors identical exposure to those markets. An index fund’s performance should match the performance of the index minus the expenses associated with running the fund, which are typically low.

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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