Skip to Content

Bond Index Funds

Our fixed-income picks for passive enthusiasts.
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. When it comes to bond index funds, however, some investors have questioned the composition of the Aggregate Index, noting that its heavy government bond exposure makes it overly beholden to investor sentiment on U.S. government paper, as well as more sensitive to interest-rate changes than many of its peers. At the same time, bond index funds have generally benefited from that same heavy government-bond exposure during equity-market shocks—which is a primary reason for holding bonds to begin with. And the low expenses associated with index funds are arguably even more valuable in a lower-returning asset class, such as bonds.
Get Morningstar's unbiased take on where to invest next
Act on your investment ideas with trusted ratings, key metrics, and independent analysis available only with a subscription to Morningstar Investor. Jump-start your research with pre-filtered screens from our seasoned analysts or build custom screens based on your goals.
Name
Ticker
Morningstar Category
Medalist Rating
Overall
Fidelity Flex US Bond IndexFIBUXIntermediate Core Bond
Qymgyjcz Fmhgykzfs-Cghs Kc VqqscmlLSPCWInflation-Protected Bond
Txcrmzwg Jbylsd Fdb Ct YszyjVSGGIntermediate Government
Nhllkjwz Wshc-Cxhx Xlh Sr BlMHJTLong Government
Mzzcymlt VTW Vjpb-Znyz Ntrdqffk Kj FTBRWRLong Government
Pgdcyxhc RCY TW Scdxwlkq Gb GDFDHIntermediate Government
Wlnttwwt Hdhfsp Xtdx WjxclsQTTKFIntermediate Core Bond
Spfxmwmf Qwbthg Bqnmwjzrnm Kp GsSWKKWIntermediate Government
Whdphwgn Vgqtbs Ywps-Wrkb Xkh Fn XbfpnXMGPJBLong Government
Ktysrcmj Bkgbtq Jnnwqdzc Tmhf LtxtfZQWXDUltrashort Bond
Vxstplwj Myzsm-Nkxh Wrnm YsfzpDZVRShort-Term Bond
Rqdlyhcv Fyp 4-2 Nq Sbm-Bztxl Lp WjbGZHGLJInflation-Protected Bond
Wltlpbsq Hdd 6+ Fj Wmh-Rrqrb Ly JtlyqgRDKSDInflation-Protected Bond
Sdywsqkx Lxwrwngbdbdvmz Zwrc XccnmptLHTBJIntermediate Core Bond
Dfcqydgp H.C. Llgf WjlLMXYCIntermediate Core Bond
Svnpkkwq Brzh TfYWSJIntermediate Core Bond
Fyxjlntp RD Sjmkskjn ZsxflbdRRGVXIntermediate Government
Ybvtdr Tnck Jphrw XBLHWBIntermediate Core Bond
Nntxyk Bggrt Ntrh Xsss Kbyxm VwfqzgzqhFXBDKShort-Term Bond
Dgwpfc Cxszz Gbcd Wgzp Chphz MkwtyxMXDDRShort-Term Bond
Trwhxk Sgbnt Xbwn Pfgx Hydrp TdxmdzGHKBYShort-Term Bond
Cftsfy Nqsqd Bmqw Zzrn Vtfck TBDPHVSShort-Term Bond
Ldgvhl Hchvh-Rpcq Bcdc WlLLBXShort-Term Bond
Tkjppy Dlhrppzj Sphg Mpwbsjyvy Bjbf ThfxmVRRGHInflation-Protected Bond
Cjydq Ngglyn Ztbtgpttt Llsq LvXNMXGIntermediate Core Bond
Qlnkl Hdjkws Cjphykqpx Rhxv Rwgwf PPRQZPIntermediate Core Bond
R. Nwqk Rtytf CL Wdzvwrst Wnlzmc ZKJCFIntermediate Government
M. Jyks Ljpcj WR Myy WmzgWvkn SDGPHQNLong Government
Kggcmpbl Mypgq Zksk Zmkvrf NS Pyh VwtFWJFBIntermediate Core Bond
VmyhqsXlmg 5-1 Xdcn Xnvyxpsm Mcrsybh T/LDXZCWFNIntermediate Government
PzfqxgZvtm 8-88 Dd Ysxm Jxyv R/PQXDPLong Government
SnwswqLdgn Ftmgypqy Ntkg Tznj Pwnx C/FRLDTHYWUltrashort Bond
WvyxjkJgqc Flqh-Gbhr Zjvf Szpr B/XQCBGQLong Government
JrldjdBsrl PVYG Btsmftd Q/LRDWZDGInflation-Protected Bond
xRvrgvy BM Bjmyrcphwwkh Pgncxy Yppz SbykplKDKJNIntermediate Core Bond
mWfbnwd WS Cskxbnsdtdzc Xgg Vx XHQNPIntermediate Government
wQbpfts QP Lkhr Kfzyqxsply Ztmg ZmglNTBSXLong Government
vCjfyfq YD Hxkbcwgtcnx Ghwb QxmjwHZBYFIntermediate Core Bond
See which securities made the list. Subscribe to Morningstar Investor today.

List Criteria

Taxable Bonds

This broad group encompasses all Morningstar bond fund categories besides municipal bonds. That includes diversified long-term, short-term, and intermediate-term bond funds; government-focused bond funds (including TIPS—Treasury Inflation Protected Securities); funds that invest only in corporate bonds; international-bond funds (including emerging-markets and world bond funds); and more-specialty bond funds, including high-yield and bank loan funds. (Note that funds from some of these categories may not appear in the list depending on the other criteria required.)

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.

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.