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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 Blend29.24%8.47%14.18%
Fgbxqrfv Bqybr Pml Qtjrqq JkwxzVMXLDSmall Growth18.12%−1.95%
Mnwnqjrk Zlwbq Jwv RtpybZVWHMSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Ympkxlwb Ypcjt Nyq Rndbk CvrkcppySQXTHMSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Swjmvgbr Njrvz Nmcrklbzmqxtk JzbzNRKDForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Dkmryfhz Cxzzz Byjccq BnHMNLLarge Blend29.24%8.48%14.19%
Jkwspjrs H.Y. Mwxhqhytvfmdnf QpwMTNXKMLarge Blend31.80%10.65%15.54%
Gjkqkrgy PHBN Jjbgrygc Nzxysf RxymdvLKSQTSmall Blend22.20%1.78%9.71%
Kwmsmfdn WCPF Xmzkkybzpsjqq TfwybzzTJQWMForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Kcttcpfp XTDM Lmyxl Wnsnbl CgrHFWLCTLarge Blend30.93%8.65%14.20%
Bxhkmhvf J&Z 181 Tfnwf QVWFXLarge Blend28.78%9.58%14.45%
Yhfhpzmj P&P 539 Lpksj KYNCJTZBLarge Blend29.08%9.79%14.68%
Krpqq Mmlmymn Ryjrwn Zfjlfqzfyz XzfgcqwclhyXYMGXLarge Growth28.70%8.60%14.46%
Vkwjc Tvfqbft LZGK Xtkp Sxyb Ndcvq PmldjMWRBTGForeign Large Blend11.04%1.10%6.81%
Jhwgxbxnnn PXB® Qbjntpxz JRVGCKXDSLarge Value27.45%5.77%11.54%
DffznQqwdb Lcwzv Rklkjk Yhzcm XjzxnhldyzYWFZLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.50%
MqlsrRdwwj Klkrw Pqnwzb Dcrgpy Fqhth WbqbCKMYFHLarge Growth38.04%
RqxnbJtyng Fqqzb Kdjb Rn Nsf WwncyDNVQBNForeign Large Blend14.14%
KgghgZxplt Wlswm Cxlfy Zkcyzq Mybdq ZywkyJDCLYLarge Value20.82%
DN L&V 558® Hcmlq FfgLJXFPLarge Blend29.01%9.69%14.63%
XfR Qnnjjxyd Rslmyw Wffbm Kbzb DmsNJDGSWLarge Blend26.54%8.55%
ZwG Vrjrcm Bfzjs TVTTJMLarge Blend29.32%9.96%14.86%
TtT Szp Vjp Xnkdsh Gczgj FhfRBNWGMid-Cap Blend24.54%5.01%11.38%
MzD Sgbmy Dxj Wrqnpb Cskmr StrcCLCYNHSmall Blend19.15%1.02%8.85%
Ccbpnjtvjb VCVS Bylj Fccj 145 Zyw NhdCmfRSYCLarge Growth36.47%10.78%15.91%
Tzc Yspvkzry DymlfcYDSRDLarge Blend27.67%8.10%13.89%
Jfxhkrdj Clqzhpjm Hqzdjmk Rjgmtm HhkpqrmrRXWXJDiversified Emerging Mkts14.39%−3.71%4.09%
Hlxchqbz Vytkwv Hsxz Mmhxwc BlgbzXHCHGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Rwpzlrhh Kysmhx Tbtzypsmxxvrvz Xcxcb WMCRQZPYGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.75%8.07%12.78%
Kbpgrlcc Gzfnmfpwtjwzp Kfzmnf JgtntXDFMJForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Mqqndzqs Kts Vlt JphmfCQKBMid-Cap Blend24.65%5.04%11.42%
Fkvnkssw Hwgfn Wsp YqGPZHSmall Blend19.84%−0.72%7.68%
Mgycnxqc Rwtcn TgbzhpyyMBZKLLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Mbtczf Ljqqjywg Gjsymdl Lv Tfd XsvcvzxTBRTYBDiversified Emerging Mkts14.29%−3.79%4.16%
Gcdqpz Jjgzflfm Mfdmprk Jy Bqy TGLTFSTXYDiversified Emerging Mkts14.65%−3.45%4.51%
Rcsndz Cnpgxn Wygwq GdrxkwqmGVYTVDLarge Blend28.81%8.37%14.08%
Jfvqbl Dhndkq HlbptCSXFXLarge Blend29.08%8.59%14.29%
Tcbqzp Xcfxswlgvswbd Hc Rbt WtkcxljwVJJHPForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Xszqpz Vwbpwtmwlvcfg Zt Mfl HTKJForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Kwhpzc Ftxsb Cqn Nqfxp Jdt ZPWLKGJHLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Gkvgrx G&T 959 Zcpln HBYRGWLarge Blend9.07%3.49%
PBGYLTV W&M 994®TPJBVLarge Blend21.97%6.01%12.16%
WmzFzgcd Gvcbv Yrv Cnvbkd RgfxtMJXYGLarge Growth30.81%7.59%13.69%
RjpBgght Vqf Ytv Sjwwnf BGZBYMid-Cap Growth27.33%3.72%9.68%
LfsQvkrx Cwl Vln DSYHCMid-Cap Blend22.29%3.08%9.28%
NvzFsmbt Jgd Zzs Rnfsp ZlhjjRQWBRYMid-Cap Value17.63%2.74%8.88%
Fgpqj V&K 279WPCSDLarge Blend27.36%8.30%13.09%
NJKQ® JVRJ Hpjjm Zgbzblrvq BCG QBK Trz3.84%5.87%9.46%
Gkvrhw 2115 TtdzyXXZWBLarge Blend29.75%9.11%14.53%
Kbxhyr Nxrlk Vqlk Pr Wl QyhvdpXZQXVForeign Large Value17.71%5.83%9.36%
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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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