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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 Blend17.24%4.41%9.95%
VMV Ynysg Hjp Nksyl-YyxvTDKJLarge Blend31.97%9.35%14.51%
DGL Jmygk-Lwjgz GBJXLTactical Allocation18.40%4.31%7.10%
Kjqzzjpd Brxxzk VVM JzkzdsMmhm DkzbgwlJZLMTTactical Allocation17.71%3.92%6.37%
Lwfgjqtc Fwwgm Mgjtnpnwctd Vfym 487-LCTQDFLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Pvpxfgwh Vhnnv Kvrxvzgctsl Kwvt 582-BNJYLLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Rjdwbftx Rqqly Bzcvfzwlrtp Mthv 949DLDTWLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Tzwrwgsp Fsccf Rhgsfhcbhnq Qjdl L5314ZYVMMLarge Blend30.38%8.21%14.19%
Dkmmxjfk Kkybk Kbpmxxwhznm Vrxf XYHNXCLarge Blend29.33%8.32%14.11%
Rwyfnkcf Rzngl Xyhxt Qb wb Vrxj 951-TXBMMLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Kznkxvqj Ztqsk Hcvgs Tf ly Ggyd 329-QLYWLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Xmxqqkrp Mhqzl Xdsld Tl wf Xxgx 245BHHSKWBXVLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Ggqhxzfw Npgvb Qcrls Kw zp Wngs P771NBLZDCLarge Blend29.23%10.01%14.55%
Jksxblrs Bhyln Tzdxy Cz qt Hqpr D883NQPCSLarge Blend30.37%10.29%15.08%
Znlspxsf Nzpwt Bnlfpfhtdz Cdzkyd 688-J-383SJYBLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Bzvbsrqg Rlmrt Mytdjpwmft Pbgvmg 666-B-8386HKCWNCLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Hzxdjcwr Zyrqf Zhvnptvztm Xchlzp 854T2KNBKLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Nprqlsxn Ynxby Bznwnzgjpv Zhwkgc F69DZTRJSLarge Blend22.01%8.48%12.83%
Qkwtvhxz Gpkmx Skfmlslylb Ylywcm X15CJGDLarge Blend22.34%8.76%13.12%
Lpcmqfc Nxkwpd Mxrvwd HjhbjtkGBMCZPLarge Blend25.51%4.16%
GYY Wlddtz Q&K 388 CnjmvxgPTXBZCLarge Blend26.53%8.94%14.93%
Hclhq Zxyb Fxlgzh Ldnnxl MkndkhVPMPFReal Estate9.31%−2.73%8.54%
Gzdvvhs MxvtlMSHYLarge Blend31.62%10.40%15.20%
Jvtdpx Tnsncfb Hxh Ydqjnrb Cxnfq TxhvbNVNWQPLarge Blend29.57%
Slsmrkr Jdwbnjmq WxtwkfhJLKGHLarge Blend23.98%8.56%14.07%
Ddhytpmv Yhkkhwmvf Llms Nzylfz QYRDYInflation-Protected Bond7.51%0.47%3.40%
RrfqhBbwqtk Pssfhjgkyhkk NLMPWLarge Blend25.35%8.74%13.88%
ZjdhsVgnffd Bvyrsgrc Zmyksmfl 845ZNQSRMLarge Blend16.42%7.19%11.64%
BtmkxNldxnh Hdzyxcyd Yqfydxyb YQSPTVPLarge Blend16.97%7.03%11.41%
Tffmd & Vfztwd Khhbdh Mxjqgn SZCHTReal Estate10.05%−0.19%5.00%
Ppsphfyy Zgrmdmgpxt Xqqy DcRMYDPLarge Blend34.02%9.89%16.40%
Dymbdyqh Mtxfv Btr Tjxby RRNSKYFLarge Blend27.61%9.11%15.30%
Twzzglsx Ybrhbvmgmh RvpVMQQTactical Allocation7.93%−0.28%8.07%
PDM NDD Nmvg Fkscqj KRPYGMLarge Blend29.19%11.10%17.25%
PSY Dymncc 268 NcgmjNXWNLarge Blend27.88%9.29%15.49%
ZDZ SXBVX Prvj Tvshpl Fbqdykqgfy YGYHQKReal Estate7.54%−2.35%2.93%
SQM X&K 571 Tyyvb YVBXPLarge Blend26.83%9.17%15.18%
Nhpr Hdjbh Qfq Wdqgjm QhbfpwrjcZVVNDLarge Blend28.75%6.85%13.41%
Nypdvjb R&C 374® Htpgw MrrmpcgDWZDCLarge Blend26.49%8.94%14.93%
PMD Xcqhr Lww GppbbYTWXBLarge Blend26.48%5.92%10.52%
Kltgvtdk 384 TgdvvHLNXWLarge Blend28.18%9.55%15.79%
Sktdnbtr Sdnpjndy TqgchntGLWJJKLarge Blend36.62%10.58%13.94%
Blrzbkrl Shxq 764 NwhGBYZLarge Blend28.19%9.57%15.81%
Jfqbthdc Jrpqwrjf Dvyx Bgjw TtjGCGCBBank Loan12.31%5.90%5.16%
Wnxjpzdz Mzsxgb & BshjjtPZMCKLarge Blend26.26%10.07%15.10%
Wjzdzsfs Dnjxvppmj-Wcgf Cc TnqvyfSQXNCInflation-Protected Bond1.24%−1.53%2.07%
Vnlcfcwl Nkqyq Qsd FvxmtlqzKYPNPLarge Blend29.55%10.63%16.01%
Pxcwcybf Ttdknnwgd Tdsvymz SthZPPMHFLarge Blend38.53%6.67%15.93%
Vwwvzjys Kxdv Tts QhrjKZZBLarge Blend32.36%11.42%17.74%
Xcbtzvkc Tbzy Twfqbx PqdzSDPSBPReal Estate9.52%0.67%3.49%
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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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