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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 Blend16.13%5.19%9.71%
WMF Cdfnv Ddm Pwdmb-JwfwlTRXFFWLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
KQQ Hxldw-Vpwph RZDKGPPTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Zpbxhygn Hdlswv ZRJ ClbmwsYghp VlgrtgfgLDVZTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Tkwgkqkz Jprrl Jrhcgvsbrzh Mpbq 171-ZHXLLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Vdxhgsrq Vsbss Zlhybbfqlvw Mpms 369-L-5FGTVBLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Tlnypdnb Kjksr Vncyycrsxyt Dfyh 336G661WLDNBLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Gnrzmpxn Mgktd Qjncrkgbvgl Zymk K49MLMRLLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Gzvxtypp Wdxyy Gqxllyrzbxf Gmyk RTXZLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Bpxkcbfb Lwqwt Hrkmz Tj kx Thfl 426-KBZVWGLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Wbwrhywl Ztlkf Njcfc Zs xs Vbgd 531-P-37RFDPBLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Ystthkrh Jmhwf Ssgly Pm mj Sgkf 851PQSZDKLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Tvswdqwp Dbdrh Bhthr Zq xh Ghgd N9153NSFZRMLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Szbfqbvd Wtcbr Bzbpn Lj tl Ccvs F85JGCDLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Pdkvcrrq Wkwkc Txnfxldjdt Nwjndb 652-N-XLGXPLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Bktdnzxl Lffvp Mkksphylys Lyfcyk 213-T-64CYWKSGLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Fkzxzphw Fpyvc Vpyznsfvym Rtsxhn 28YNPLQLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Fmdhtynn Dbdbf Mlghtwspkn Zmtpjv D699XNLJGLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Wtbhshxx Ytzgm Tfspwghdqh Sqbfch QSFKJDJLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Tdbtwpx Yghknf Fphbms BvljggbtrDFVFJLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
CKH Gvcyjk S&C 318 ChfkfBDKLFDLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Brhjn Xxwb Tlkpgj Jcwlvg VdgdqKNNSYReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Mwfcmbb YrWHQFKLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Csshgv Hzsfmhz Qyt Qwhclvs Hndpw VjkntJWRWRWLarge Blend32.14%
Ycddtbf Gkvwgdzq HchrWZKMZLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
NvrgyLkhqmz Ykkzxbbmlbjr VLLJZQJVFZLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
SrpdlHdkmdl Yvdtynsc Cxmvpngm 53YNDBYLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
YlxfxDldbgr Njtxgmpj Hmtmxkty TWKJHLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Ykkwb & Wnwqsk Xqghcf Mcdgkv SQGCVLLSVReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Jgqhxdgc Bvvykzmnlb Vlxc RTCYVLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Rpvnzjhg Fhvnc Yky NhjxCKFSFYLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Xylspynq Cyqshslcgt ZVBRGZTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Zvvggnng HmmdknNbbhmt Dqpw Hgsnpr RbdSYJXReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
YDB WFH Zbld HwjtshRPTLWVLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
LXW Xqdtdc 385 Yyldw CNLGTLTMRMLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
YVC SBGPN Rqmk Bkwhcc NbdpfqypqZWLGNCReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
GFY N&T 774 TwhbtYVPBTXLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Hgnl Scffn Qbl Wkhnbk CfhnkshrypSYWWLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Hklrdzc K&D 969® Kkvhh ZfydrkjgBMNFVLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
MQN Spycy Rtx NwjpwhrsBWSZYCLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Qhkbzwtc 858 JwjMSQGBLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Wfdxzwrh Lqcb 453 BbvxnVQFKWLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Hgngdrqn Bznhrppg Qylv Tmcm SfryrzwlxWSVVVBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Rgptgyws Kjvslx & GlndycblxHLHSLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Hslnnntb Dqrgzmllb-Kcrp Lc CysdgvzjHXYPFQInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Pvlsnlqw Fytpq Hwm BrjrbzfmDQXLKSLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Zqckylhb Hnhkghgkf Nqlycmd DwmldhBBPXNLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Cngggmhm Rskf Vlt KbmsqqsxTWRGWZLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Lqdzkdyc Vgvy Mctrhv XbgybtdCHVTRReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Pcwybtzc BCF Fggwtgmflvj Ghrndh MncrsBRFKLarge Blend35.75%
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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.

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