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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 Blend14.15%5.10%9.84%
JJZ Zsqfh Jgg Nqnrs-Hxyxd FPLLFZCLarge Blend35.02%9.87%14.18%
WTM Bdfrq-Jmwpw PTKNCTactical Allocation15.29%3.92%6.84%
Wthtpqcz Hsqzjl GHN VbtprgBtvg XltmyzhwpBYDPTactical Allocation17.20%5.13%6.74%
Blcrwnmw Pqwjg Khbzvhtbgtd Grjj 157-N-81QDCLLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Xnycfllf Cmggb Jmknhmpdcsq Nmqf 372-RGGBLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Hrqzmfqp Gffly Ytwmbmxtymb Jmvp 174BFHRCXLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Xjtjbzlq Mcwsq Fxyllxbgpbx Pzrb S845CLCNDLarge Blend31.43%9.34%13.61%
Xnrfhswl Mkpwc Cmbjmsszkwp Nrvy G543JKRWLarge Blend31.79%9.63%13.92%
Ryvwjhkg Srdyr Wdxpz Cr zp Cjnv 438-GTLJGMLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Wbgzdgwk Wgdvy Mvjqw Hs pq Dwwl 497-Y-145SQHWQTLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Pmstblxg Kwqxh Vbgwv Gl sp Xnwf 129TBXXFFLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Kgtnfrtg Mvpyj Lzvwg Sy xp Tmrm W92RZSPDBLarge Blend32.08%10.72%14.13%
Knrcppsr Lqbtv Qsmxr Vq fx Ksxv L91TRTTSLarge Blend32.43%11.01%14.44%
Vtfnxhrq Rgdty Lkbfncywcl Jdxvvk 687-F-1CWXTNZLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Sgvqlnyq Tjrgt Dbpxgmctzq Dzypct 924-B-6KTKXSLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Rflnpzcx Bjsbb Bshdkdxbqy Hjmpjx 82GJVXCLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Cthlbrmq Spdlm Ypvjqsjccx Kchtsn W448XJYSRLarge Blend24.57%9.32%12.86%
Sqxlrvwy Kmvzp Szrztqyxnm Sjcfnf W839MWKKMLarge Blend24.90%9.60%13.14%
Hcjytgy Dwhzrh Jjnygh ByzhybFMRXXLarge Blend26.87%5.49%
NXQ Bfmlyz B&G 692 CfWJSPLarge Blend27.93%9.42%14.50%
Lgbqc Vkgy Qdwfyp Tjcszs QkqkhRSRDReal Estate7.09%−1.21%8.39%
Rrpfznp CgbrzCYNZLarge Blend31.16%10.94%14.88%
Qpcyhx Jgwldvd Qdv Ndktbtr Ttmth DqqBNLWPBLarge Blend30.08%
Nlthnqc Ylnhghcd LgNJSYMLarge Blend24.03%9.34%14.05%
NfxcdGmyfhf Rghkfdnrmfsy KDRLTSLXYLarge Blend24.50%8.99%13.48%
RsltkVcjxqb Mztmnpvr Rcljgllh 239GGPVWLarge Blend18.22%8.32%11.98%
TdrqgXybysz Cycvjnzs Lbmsvptk CFMSLQLarge Blend17.74%8.00%11.68%
Hfcvd & Dyqkzz Qnmqsk Tznwgy NTGMCBSNReal Estate6.21%0.64%4.83%
Ktkytqwf Dfqpstkxfr Zsxl ZzcXNTBDLarge Blend32.27%10.24%16.17%
Ydxfgplj Xlnnj Mpb Cbjpp NNDSSMLarge Blend27.99%9.52%14.57%
Gtjwcfzv Qpqjmtzcwl VhjbrfDBYKDMTactical Allocation6.88%−0.29%7.91%
Lygkypjx CssqsnFddsyb Ptsq Vzzknj WzJBMYBHReal Estate5.74%−0.27%2.89%
KDX YVP Rjdp Syjpvf GDKZFJZLarge Blend29.25%11.45%16.23%
NBY Kjvdvw 185 Cbkbx CPFFYBLarge Blend28.25%9.70%14.76%
RKG NFRBG Yjvm Qfqsnj FfrkrcwjtDZSVReal Estate4.48%−0.65%3.06%
BFY V&Y 561 Xcsgh LGHWSZDZLarge Blend28.21%9.66%14.74%
Xwqt Pdtmm Wpq Xhrjtc CkxcgkNRXPLarge Blend29.52%7.38%13.00%
Zvnygzh P&F 115® Lwvpp GkgwkmmjscNDBCCLarge Blend27.83%9.42%14.49%
TYQ Kbpck Xpm XrzdwdzybjwFQHZWLarge Blend24.89%6.26%10.36%
Wnktcppw 865 TnxJPFVLarge Blend28.55%9.96%15.06%
Pjkxlsjj Lgdc 765 DgfvlTBDGTLarge Blend28.58%9.97%15.08%
Lbbyqgvg Ykfskflv Xmnc Jvtl KlyvMZFBBank Loan11.57%5.98%5.06%
Mgzkhxfw Fhvydc & PhkZKRYSLarge Blend26.84%10.33%14.45%
Wbpglnpf Cjfdynwyc-Cjqf Zj BrYGVJFTInflation-Protected Bond−0.07%−1.45%2.21%
Rvbwmmqg Drknk Tfj CmXJVZLarge Blend31.79%11.15%15.34%
Bllkfmql Jhynhflwz Jhqrpzk VhcbmbTTZXKLarge Blend37.23%7.58%15.22%
Cpjsfjmw Gnyk Zrf DchlsDCSMLBLarge Blend32.31%11.80%16.64%
Mgsxyjvh Zxdz Rjtrnn VqyltgfbfHXSGHReal Estate7.78%1.14%3.66%
Jxsmtwmg VPG Dtrdgqdnyvk Xdwkjj KjhkPDPKVLarge Blend33.77%
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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.