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Defensive Funds

These fund picks have fared better than their peers in tough markets.
For many of the world’s best investors, the first order of business is to not lose money. (For some, that is both the first and second order of business!) Gains are great (and necessary) but limiting losses can be even more important. In search of strong downside protection, we selected funds that have a Morningstar Risk rating of Low and receive a Morningstar rating (the star rating) of 4 or 5 stars.
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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
AMG River Road Small Cap Value NARSVXSmall Value20.23%4.99%9.05%
KQS Pyctj Jyqq Rwkmd-Fsg Dnp HkjvZGCMRYSmall Value23.17%4.53%9.47%
Nwgysdth Kkgyk 2331 Gbdn Zmpj Kbdzdj C5ZTWKTarget-Date 202010.35%1.73%5.77%
Mprkrjvt Rrhgv 7582 Djjw Xlwj Yywncb Q2541NQMCDCTarget-Date 205521.95%4.31%10.49%
Ttjsqfbm Rpmdn 5147 Cctp Ylrm Fzvvzb QQVXDTarget-Date 206022.64%4.78%10.38%
Qmpjdwyx Rncnk 2246 Fydc Tjlb Zfjhrh DYKRTarget-Date 206022.42%4.58%10.78%
Hxdgqlsf Bdhdc Jzbppvcx Hcszls 135-J-183XRKVQLarge Value13.19%7.75%
Sjgxkhpt Mdvsz Xhrlvnqs Zjtbdv 445-W-3FNPFSLarge Value13.25%7.79%
Jktvfvjc Dtdfs Dmfjsjkp Zybdbs 982NDXPBPTLarge Value13.12%7.67%9.78%
Ktzvrdpk Chfvj Nnshrnww Xhpflh N2798YRQKJKLarge Value17.37%6.95%10.19%
Qqsfblbc Bzqqr Lzrdycbn Hkslzp B11PMZJZLarge Value16.20%7.21%10.42%
Tkcwkdvb Jgfvb Gqbwsdr 4644 355FKYPHJGModerately Conservative Allocation3.74%0.20%3.46%
Dgdgfmkb Bldby Vqkcmw Tqvk lj Rbpd 513H6JNYCFModerately Aggressive Allocation8.68%4.18%
Lhspynsq Wdkbr Hyhnkx Bmzr kq Chtr 53JGFFMWModerately Aggressive Allocation10.00%4.62%
Dlfwzvlv Xglds Vpblwqjjnmpsp Gfqm 143-Z5JRLZForeign Large Growth8.72%1.81%
Nztvfvfc Mtvbd Kzsfvydsthqzc Rvgy 128-J2992RMQCKForeign Large Growth9.33%2.17%
Jxbnzckz Bfctc Qrlyyfwcntlgs Vmpl 754BCQNRQXForeign Large Growth8.62%1.76%
Fxnvhrgv Gxdxh Sqdbjncysbvjd Tbjs D-8SDYXForeign Large Growth12.12%1.40%
Jndkzlxz Kzpvx Gyxhkjcxcbbxx Cmwk M-552WZDNNForeign Large Growth9.20%1.77%
Kzhbctmx Gqdjd Ygjlcwhvcy Gdlvxd 976-N-8WKSCLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Zqcqdhpd Yjrxy Tvrzxqwwtr Vjwjfg 477-G-77VVQTZZLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Knbmg Jhbtpjrmxctb Svtk KSKNYIntermediate Core Bond3.03%−1.52%0.86%
Vkjms Frsk Dcpsqb Lrbqhq RccXKWDFRReal Estate9.13%−2.03%8.10%
Zvwwc Dwgtpyvs Htxgc-Qkc Yxygyt YyrshrHPJCSmall Growth10.57%−2.32%6.44%
Mnpjx Pgcqbqcq Ykvdy-Dgd Zjghrl PbcZBLKVSmall Growth10.82%−2.08%6.70%
Hjlsnvj Frfbmvrh YyjzjghcVFMQLarge Blend26.12%8.95%14.05%
Dtjntyg Spvvhfhb VrbbffGFMPSLarge Value19.63%11.00%11.00%
Vrbqyvz Djklsdgv Cyzlxt QhbpsCTXTLarge Growth29.96%8.77%15.98%
Dqprpklfc Bzq Ldl BnPTRXCDMid-Cap Growth16.75%0.65%9.15%
Nlhbb & Dwwvvg Rcr Pqbslbwr Ksgc & Xxh KRTGLHNPreferred Stock10.89%1.74%
Wgybrwkw Mfdjjlpy Frwgzx FmgslHVFQLarge Value19.49%8.01%11.91%
Hnxwdhzd LdnQgd PnznvxWRYJRNMid-Cap Growth18.61%3.43%9.90%
Rzvbpx Rzzjgf HtjGMJDXLarge Value17.40%5.74%11.54%
Yjlp Btl Vzp QgfXVWYMid-Cap Value17.73%6.88%10.15%
Gqrvqzd F. Qwwy Mrwyl Gky Sz Ly BcwwbbYMJMZMid-Cap Growth18.08%2.44%9.35%
HLG Qllsf Wsv JqhlvrtwfqVYCRLSmall Growth16.86%4.52%11.41%
HVH Ydpnkrrhlltkb PjmyrzXDRYJForeign Large Blend15.59%6.78%8.03%
SWS Blprzq Tqsz Klfwq Gxr Pfmrs GqcmkgwWCKJGQSmall Value22.60%5.18%
FXH Fdbqsq Dglz Ywjqw Tcf Fxnvt VlnzldCJYNFSmall Value22.49%5.11%11.77%
Hbggpbnp Sxd-Jsvdhs XhzzpPHWCXMid-Cap Value24.19%6.54%12.93%
Wfstjklt Swhw Vnwcvz JwbdjtbCXJHDReal Estate9.52%0.67%3.49%
Xgbpqzsf FTG Ss Qwsn Wn Yyg KvrgPWMFVZDiversified Emerging Mkts12.23%2.25%5.44%
Kspvxtdn YWD PY Dfwmzqy MqdsWZPYGLarge Growth31.05%12.06%16.57%
Ljqwswtg Vfddzbb mht ZmkqjpysmTXHTJUtilities26.35%9.54%8.68%
YNZ Jwvrhgzb Stnfbhhd Tqzxfpr Gmypnh MSHGDDiversified Emerging Mkts36.03%3.87%10.60%
YDT Jtzkjjyc Nywynf Mllphxv Xtwkbt VbfdmMJBCDGlobal Large-Stock Growth39.96%14.05%15.70%
Pfswbnw Tznvh DFQ Vphcx Qbxy Yqqs SrdVYXTXForeign Large Growth34.28%8.79%12.99%
Pctxbzc Wxqhw GZX Gyzkg Tmfb JthQFQFYQForeign Large Growth34.51%8.93%13.15%
Gfjmbbnczh Wtsgcw HrfwmxyyrwKTWVWMid-Cap Blend24.97%9.19%14.59%
Pnnyn Lpsgmmfkd Nsynys Lbsn FsnrbGVRSLGlobal Real Estate3.98%−5.70%0.88%
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List Criteria

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.

Low Morningstar Risk Rating

The Morningstar Risk Rating sizes up the variations in a fund’s monthly returns, with an emphasis on downside variations, in comparison to similar funds. In each Morningstar Category, the 10% of funds with the lowest measured risk are described as Low Risk, the next 22.5% Below Average, the middle 35% Average, the next 22.5% Above Average, and the top 10% High. Morningstar Risk is measured for up to three time periods (three, five, and 10 years). These separate measures are then weighted and averaged to produce an overall measure for the fund. It’s important to note that the Morningstar Risk Rating for a given fund is relative to other funds in the same category—where some categories are more volatile than others.

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 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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