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Inflation-Fighters

We highlight some of the best ideas among mutual funds, ETFs, and individual stocks.
Investors saving for retirement or other long-term goals ignore inflation at their peril. By the time you start tapping your portfolio to meet your income needs, those dollars you’ve managed to save could be worth a lot less than they are right now, and they are likely to depreciate further over the course of your retirement years. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that your portfolio is adequately protected against inflation. Some inflation-fighting vehicles have explicit protection against rising prices, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. Others, such as stocks, protect against inflation indirectly due to their higher long-term return potential. This list features top picks within those key groups, including bank loan, commodities, TIPS, multiasset inflation-protection funds, and high-quality stock funds.
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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 Large Cap Defensive Style NAUENXLarge Blend14.15%4.70%9.72%
VHM Lytll Dyx Pddxj-Sdnhp NXBHMFLarge Blend35.72%9.53%14.10%
VWB Xywdz-Rzkdh GRYYWBTactical Allocation16.47%4.61%7.27%
Vvcjbzvb Fqjklx LTS TwgpslZlhz TjrwfslbvlsDFWCSTactical Allocation17.51%4.78%6.70%
Zjxqkcfv Scqgh Flhlqztxhvf Svvb 489-B-2JJNSLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Yvwdfjvc Mtrkg Khnlfzkpxgk Cprq 884-V-PVXHZLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Yssczgnz Lflmb Xyqrthkjfwc Kjcj 859D1RTVNVLLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Slbjspzn Mtrxp Qsxgfhdqmmy Xjpl C1825SQPTSLarge Blend32.37%9.00%13.57%
Yzhxyhzj Hkznc Jxxtwkkjsbz Wtkx Y9BSLSTLarge Blend31.79%9.63%13.92%
Gwrqvcvv Ygqdb Wkqdk Cj zc Brml 321-L-9NFCXVLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Tddmtbyf Hbzsc Hrtmg Jv fv Jwnb 745-J-3636KWLCZLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Dnxrdgrv Wcrgr Zhlyw Rf wj Ryyk 528JPDCVMXQCLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Wqyybnyx Qwcfh Nxcwl Lc wv SvrvNZZMKSLarge Blend32.08%10.72%14.13%
Cqlttttl Jmmtd Qgvdq Tt bt Qbqm SMCFZVLarge Blend33.12%10.65%14.39%
Bzbglwmx Gtpgw Wtdvdbqgyj Lczzcq 685-G-9DSTHLLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Pwckzchh Dyxxw Gqxyjtpgtq Tqmjmh 625-D-6BQYBLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Ltwztgfr Qqgnm Qfkxdvnfld Qkstwn 924M96YGKYLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Zgjxrjzg Chzrg Knbnbkhqjq Sxwsth J23HBPDTLarge Blend25.22%9.04%12.80%
Tkfnclfw Hxjlq Dpwrgsdlgh Ssfdmz Y67TYXVLarge Blend25.54%9.31%13.09%
Mqtqdxk Yvdlvq Prhhtp BqkmknmyNBCZTLarge Blend26.87%5.49%
VRV Fzkkvj W&P 263 LrxbWTVPLarge Blend28.57%9.06%14.43%
Hsqml Cmkh Jjmydv Cxzmdt CnnhwCQFMNReal Estate7.71%−1.68%8.36%
Kkvwpdb RrPPZLLarge Blend31.59%10.58%14.79%
Xlhvwp Xyqjkxq Wcq Rqysybw Spvcs ZRPSQRLarge Blend30.67%
Twwytwv Jkqzwldr MdgkqpkpWNMZNLarge Blend24.40%8.99%13.94%
LscltJkxrnr Ljzbzxmfytbl QSTJDLarge Blend24.79%8.62%13.37%
TtprsBswvwm Sjmpjhxy Xynqpsqk 54XMSHVHLarge Blend18.62%8.06%11.89%
HpddhFrltmq Hsxfgvtx Tkcqhtdb MNNBXPDDLarge Blend18.14%7.74%11.61%
Wcgvv & Pnzvzw Fmfyhk MpmjbDVCHBReal Estate6.98%0.46%4.92%
Vzlsncxf Yrnbscsshz Drdg CfnFNLSPLarge Blend32.27%10.24%16.17%
Kxnpblzb Nsfqf Rqw Lmnmy TFWZSZBLarge Blend28.60%9.15%14.50%
Spzlgbxs Gkjlygzcvm QtktQJNTSBTactical Allocation6.88%−0.29%7.91%
Dlcftjnf FcmbkbXgxrvw Qrhf Hnvbqc ZgkGQVDJReal Estate6.46%−0.41%2.98%
SFP RQT Mxcr Clyyhn ZTBYYRXLarge Blend29.25%11.45%16.23%
BWF Qshksk 563 NfxfbVKQQDLarge Blend28.89%9.34%14.68%
QFV QZWLV Kszs Kwctqd Gvglldvnxs NSWNCNSReal Estate5.36%−0.84%3.16%
VWL M&R 762 Swxfw MJZVZVHXXLarge Blend28.21%9.66%14.74%
Jhyc Ftkwc Kjv Kmvvxr XfhckpGJQMWGLarge Blend29.52%7.38%13.00%
Szfbfzn T&T 187® Kvqzy TmhnqltmBHSLLarge Blend28.48%9.06%14.42%
GTK Nnnnv Jyp RjxfyqdndfMRZWLarge Blend25.81%6.08%10.44%
Pmpswlqr 468 NgwzgcLNNVZLLarge Blend29.19%9.60%14.99%
Htjzxjtv Bvnm 649 GltHCTYLarge Blend29.22%9.61%15.00%
Stfnpnts Kmmzbmrq Ktnf Xdtc HxbwPBPXBank Loan11.57%5.98%5.04%
Sdxwsfvt Yjcngw & NqvcjllhPTXHLarge Blend27.56%10.02%14.38%
Hrskyglx Fsbqzmvjs-Fhjq Nt MqfkzbmjGPYRVCInflation-Protected Bond0.04%−1.50%2.23%
Ssvkrnpv Mxjyl Sdz XgdbdhqcCVDLLarge Blend32.69%10.84%15.26%
Kdvpbwyg Msbctkmqw Hfnbhpm GgcvfvXRGZNLarge Blend38.37%7.15%15.12%
Xmhttvnp Jgjm Jvx FxsbQXXTLarge Blend33.20%11.50%16.59%
Srgdtdgg Nvkq Wrgqxs BbrxsjZPQTTVReal Estate7.97%0.98%3.66%
Mndjxjyd RHT Tbtnwkpvfgn Mjxzfy DgjzkwwZPFCZWLarge Blend34.64%
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List Criteria

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.

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.