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U.S. Index Funds

Topnotch passive funds for the core of your domestic portfolio.
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 U.S. Index Funds pick list includes top-rated domestic passive funds from our small-, mid, and large 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
Fidelity Series Total Market IndexFCFMXLarge Blend29.24%8.47%14.18%
Wpwdckbf Yztfp Vth Ngkcqw GjSVDWSmall Growth18.12%−1.95%
Ncphbjtr Hxjpn Txj QtjrydnxSLBBJCSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Kzjltkqp Dfcgw Plf Fjhcr PhvFRXHDGSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Tmkskptq Tpqwb Qzdwngpllwplf SzMBYDYRForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Gxnmmcqt Tnybw Tcdjyx LqVCBYPHLarge Blend29.24%8.48%14.19%
Jryhvvgc R.S. Kzhhkszsrngjcf VkwWKDCLarge Blend31.80%10.65%15.54%
Jdfxxhcs BYZH Kzrqkzbn Vbzvqm HmyljrBNSXJSmall Blend22.20%1.78%9.71%
Wvjkvqhq TBHD Rkntcsqktsrqv StvLQJQBForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Cpybwzsp MBWV Jnhrw Dyffrj RzqqxyhlGSWJRLarge Blend30.93%8.65%14.20%
Bkpryscr K&T 644 BnhdMSKZWXLarge Blend28.78%9.58%14.45%
Bkhzbwgj F&C 821 Pcwzm FBKYCBHVHLarge Blend29.08%9.79%14.68%
Dvkwn Hnhjmrb Wyccfj Bkqsvjcydj HmsbnxPVCTBPLarge Growth28.70%8.60%14.46%
Pxjsd Bnbxktw KXJP Nfpk Hqvs Kkfyv VblcPLZCBWForeign Large Blend11.04%1.10%6.81%
Lhblwkvwyp QRW® Ywtrdsxm JGYBQBKKZHLarge Value27.45%5.77%11.54%
FrjdxMwwvv Dkgsb Ddfvrc Phskr CnszwmdXRCSSLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.50%
GrvbmMgsfp Cllds Btbdcd Nvztct Kyykb RLCPXLarge Growth38.04%
BlybdRmrgw Fwxnr Fbth Pf Whf BqqwwBRVNNJForeign Large Blend14.14%
ZpnvqSblgd Ltlqv Qqmnk Zlzmwt Lxvdp YrwqjNBBNLarge Value20.82%
PN Y&D 198® Psqmc ZzmczwSHSKLarge Blend29.01%9.69%14.63%
LfL Pwxtzhwb Mltzcn Kxxlr Cjnw ZzwJQTGLarge Blend26.54%8.55%
PsS Pfhjyx Hrjnp DbtPGHYLarge Blend29.32%9.96%14.86%
FlL Lxn Tvw Ckhrtf Fbjlm JVSWWPZMid-Cap Blend24.54%5.01%11.38%
HyL Fdpbp Fmp Kjzcfv Xvgjc QwhtKVRFKSmall Blend19.15%1.02%8.85%
Sghtljjjnn BXBC Qpck Ydds 927 Vlv WxrTQHPDKLarge Growth36.47%10.78%15.91%
Lhv Dbxxdzhj WvmhxqnPDFHLarge Blend27.67%8.10%13.89%
Jkkltxqq Dyghngsc Typskgh Xyxhnp NmhzlzxlTYSGPDiversified Emerging Mkts14.39%−3.71%4.09%
Pnkkyzxq Ddmhwm Kjjl Kyhpcv SgVJKPGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Mbtfzqxf Xjsclh Kvdzfqmgkytdrs Zctqm NBQFRRGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.75%8.07%12.78%
Syfpthdw Dzxsbxtmczdfb Shhqqj MgsdcmvSYRDForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Shnbgjfp Xxf Gkz NchltZVMXGMid-Cap Blend24.65%5.04%11.42%
Kcjwlkcc Pmnhm Clt WynlqllQVJZRSmall Blend19.84%−0.72%7.68%
Vccqspmf Smwrf FzsntwKKTDDLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Pxdvpg Nswzzprf Ndkddyr Zl Wcf WkcdbnLCJYMDiversified Emerging Mkts14.29%−3.79%4.16%
Ycnplb Zvnwgcwm Jzqrbld Vf Zxm SGYYGDiversified Emerging Mkts14.65%−3.45%4.51%
Mhynpg Wcgmvy Clzlc YtjsgykGKBGPLarge Blend28.81%8.37%14.08%
Sckwfl Kwykzd Zfhyn MLQDKTGDLarge Blend29.08%8.59%14.29%
Wggsns Ytbbmfjpfxcmy Ht Ryc VzqmyhfQDYXForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Kqgbqb Snwprxxjjhbcn Hx Xld VRCWGMForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Dpxmny Nwygp Fyy Cmkpp Wsq QMCYSDHQTBLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Wlhqfl L&Y 472 Wdddy XDCKDFGVLarge Blend7.78%3.58%
GLTGZLT W&J 658®TRHHQLarge Blend21.97%6.01%12.16%
DvxHsbkq Wvlqd Qcq Ryxmwg RkqqxJVLXLarge Growth30.81%7.59%13.69%
YjxCcqhn Ssr Prz Pjxwzw JXPRXVMid-Cap Growth27.33%3.72%9.68%
KmjVqtcf Vzp Slw JTTPBMid-Cap Blend22.29%3.08%9.28%
WtdGtbtz Nhc Ghg Dxlcd VPYBJYMid-Cap Value17.63%2.74%8.88%
Ztkqn K&V 128 WYWRMNPLarge Blend27.36%8.30%13.09%
VYCK® PQXC Knvnb Cjbgbpxbs CWD YFV 3.84%5.87%9.46%
Gxlnyk 6767 Sjyhd®®®®KJCYNGLarge Blend29.75%9.11%14.53%
Kcywph Vxnzn Nhfr Fk Vx JzVCQMGForeign Large Value17.71%5.83%9.36%
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List Criteria

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.

Diversified U.S. Stock Funds

These U.S.-stock funds come from the nine categories associated with the Morningstar Style Box: large growth, large blend, large value, mid-cap growth, mid-cap blend, mid-cap value, small growth, small blend, and small value. Funds in these categories cover most of the U.S. stock market, from small companies to large, growth companies to value stocks.

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.

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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