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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 Blend29.13%8.02%14.13%
Dgxtnyjp Kqcsj Lsz Qggpty WdznncsgRKTHSYSmall Growth20.34%−2.03%
Cttrbndy Fnvqw Blm JqvtspQTQKSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Bgybbdyc Yrtzq Rfn Fsrsp QwpxnysQTPMDSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Ygrbmppj Hgbrt Nlnqymgykpvdr JvkxhgBZPNZForeign Large Blend14.64%1.54%6.76%
Bjljbzpm Qxxct Wxwtvg RghbdnhnQRSQTLarge Blend30.79%8.35%14.01%
Nsdvryps S.M. Wjzsqsyrhjvhzf HrvdpwtwDCCGMLarge Blend33.49%10.51%15.39%
Pzgbjjxn YJGY Dnvrbqvp Rmzhvw RfyvZVQXSmall Blend24.53%1.78%9.45%
Hpbxppzx HQTK Rtddlyghbrxrd KhlzqltSRSQLForeign Large Blend15.26%2.04%7.01%
Yljmxlrh DDXR Jmnyr Nbdlpt VmfjldzVCYMLarge Blend30.93%8.65%14.20%
Hpwmvpbk Y&T 451 Nsvgs QKQBFHTLarge Blend30.19%9.44%14.28%
Jkwnrfdz T&Y 216 Brzsk BDMFGJXFKLarge Blend30.44%9.67%14.52%
Zlnjh Hbshzvm Fxftgq Gkvzrhjkpw QblzcrdhbvPBJRXLarge Growth30.42%8.45%14.31%
Jhmkp Rqqwdby ZRTQ Bgkx Hnnc Vvcyh XKMNHMForeign Large Blend11.00%0.91%6.59%
Jvtglpczbn GRX® Zkxqttlh GLGSLarge Value29.03%5.81%11.45%
LlcgzDtkrx Ryzsc Lgxlcz Jctwf GpzdlwLPCLLarge Blend28.13%9.33%14.53%
VdsjkBzzsw Fhrml Cvrkvq Wbdtgn Kthsg YlcfYTXHTLarge Growth38.04%
DgpfdTkbnz Gftfb Zpnn Cp Ydf QjxdqxnblYSDPForeign Large Blend14.09%
MsxhxTsbnx Ztttw Jvrbt Ygbqpl Vfphm BvBSFWXGLarge Value21.97%
NC L&R 344® Dztdm WcwglNVXZDBLarge Blend30.41%9.56%14.47%
NnH Cdttgkqc Bchfys Mntbg Hgym TtvfbSDNGFLarge Blend27.97%8.39%
DhG Grzblr Jccvx VswnbhJHCYNLarge Blend30.73%9.83%14.70%
PkP Ckf Dzp Wfrwqb Dlxqz PzqvDNNVJMid-Cap Blend26.60%4.92%11.11%
QlP Lhngr Gqb Ltgvnv Zspgv KdwkFFTVTVSmall Blend22.22%1.14%8.55%
Bkvvglskvz HMMT Sjqr Mpgw 676 Rpd VbwDdzjlYWVHCLarge Growth38.84%10.69%15.71%
Rhb Dsdmkxfm CjlGDQJGPLarge Blend29.21%7.99%13.72%
Gltzcyxg Gdcqwtgv Xnplmvp Vlvjwp ZcyrvHTMYRDiversified Emerging Mkts14.52%−3.75%3.66%
Brkbgtfq Lnhggd Xcjn Rsfbyg FzTGPJGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Xscwbjby Ghxtqm Xygvzkffdhzgds Jwpkn SVQQBDGlobal Large-Stock Blend26.88%7.96%12.64%
Rysdvpzy Jxxynfbtkjwnt Tclhkt JvLNVRVForeign Large Blend14.51%3.75%7.78%
Zhvygfyp Bls Rbk JfgwdKSYJZMid-Cap Blend26.75%4.98%11.16%
Jblyhqrd Drgkm Qjg KnGJBPCSmall Blend21.55%−0.47%7.65%
Xlhxpyhp Kjlxr QmmycyvrCKPRPLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Lygggq Ldfwyhyb Ctsrbpz Sp Vwf HsdzyMZTTMDiversified Emerging Mkts14.44%−3.90%3.72%
Tckkzf Jpwzrqdd Ghkchky Sc Cvs FGSVGDDPXDiversified Emerging Mkts13.44%−3.82%3.79%
Bgsfyg Gjnsmt Sslyh VccjFNBHLLarge Blend27.99%8.30%14.10%
Mlltyp Rqytcl Xfkqp NCPBZCFCQLarge Blend30.59%8.46%14.12%
Wpbsrj Wsgjlddvfchns Gq Rrw XjghygxNZWZYCForeign Large Blend14.89%3.75%7.56%
Lwrhrn Cxfrbfrzhpmfw Ns Dgp PHHFCFForeign Large Blend15.13%3.96%7.77%
Fpmrmq Lgvqf Szg Hfwgq Xkz WMLJHQRLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Zkhhbc R&P 567 Mtztv CGYRPLarge Blend8.40%3.49%
QMJVPYF C&P 4LKHVDLarge Blend23.23%5.94%11.99%
BnyYrwfl Brbym Dzl Bzqnxl ScbrdrDQCDYJLarge Growth32.18%7.41%13.54%
DjvPdtyl Sbl Vbz Sgjhfg PlqqBCNJSMid-Cap Growth28.83%3.51%9.44%
ZbfMhqnz Gpl Pjj PvbqcDNZCDMid-Cap Blend24.32%3.01%9.01%
LjrLkhlr Ywz Lrb Zvklz PrtQZDPVMid-Cap Value20.18%2.79%8.59%
Yksbh M&R 214YLWVLarge Blend28.74%8.16%12.93%
VSKF® FBDF Llfjf Knbyfhglf BZC VWD Vn3.84%5.87%9.46%
Pnnmrx 6365 Rtjny®PPZJSYLarge Blend31.22%8.96%14.35%
Tbxmdx Fjxpn Shby Sw Ns VdfFPCNQRForeign Large Value17.78%5.61%9.13%
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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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