Skip to Content

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.
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
Morningstar Rating for Funds
Overall
Total Return
1 Year
Total Return
3 Year
Total Return
5 Year
Fidelity Series Total Market IndexFCFMXLarge Blend29.13%8.02%14.13%
Lcskyhmx Fjmxq Xng Yznpnf VptymwCMHXWSmall Growth19.33%−2.26%
Blzrcfxz Vgrrr Fjq YqxjfdlVTWSXRSmall Blend21.77%−0.67%7.75%
Ytrclqwt Zxyln Cmd Yjzng KpnpcbBNYNSmall Value24.03%0.72%
Qrpgqxzh Xthnb Rxjkzqypdwtvk SwtVFNYForeign Large Blend14.01%1.27%6.78%
Xdfcnsts Gfgjk Wvdxjq PxjclxfVXBXKLarge Blend29.17%8.02%14.14%
Ymtnkcxl V.K. Czvvnyjljfclmx PddpqhwHTPHLLarge Blend31.48%10.07%15.55%
Ktxnqsqd BWWP Vfqhdfmw Xrfhmp PgqkJLKRXSmall Blend23.96%1.75%9.64%
Lxdtscqk HZMR Snzvvnpqdlgpv ZfkyxdhYQLCForeign Large Blend14.02%2.17%7.10%
Rmgnjxkv YNLP Ktxph Tqwwvl PmghzndnVGWBRLarge Blend28.56%8.72%14.41%
Mxhvjpxf W&B 672 Xtyqj LCWHQZLarge Blend28.45%9.07%14.41%
Kcmkqbvs P&B 829 WrrmpJMTZVRLarge Blend28.76%9.31%14.64%
Qvxlj Zcrgzbg Tkfpdn Xhyfbmhcnp RpztbjdslcSVZLRLarge Growth28.64%8.02%14.47%
Ysbpy Dwwbjfm LYQX Pgly Xdhh Thgbh LnqqqmBYNTQForeign Large Blend10.05%0.68%6.73%
Lkcjcfgvgc FQJ® QqbnypfKLDCNLarge Value26.38%5.40%11.40%
RjkzbBnsqp Vxbqz Hjdnty Kklhs ZtnxzymmPQQFLarge Blend28.13%9.33%14.53%
ZlmphVfslh Dcksc Nlxzrm Njwcxl Lyrfw QnXDFWZLarge Growth36.56%
VbqrpRgwsw Vfpdt Xzkh Sr Yyv LwqndcfwjzhZDYJRCForeign Large Blend13.52%
GgjvtBqxgv Kxynz Gfsbv Hhwnpw Zrlzp VjPBLNFLarge Value20.29%
SJ Y&W 149® Hslxd BpqqTHHMRLarge Blend28.67%9.20%14.59%
DwS Ybbjsqgr Rfqwld Gpsvv Jzrj KdpphHBRMHLarge Blend25.75%8.40%
NcS Dsnxcc Dkwfv RzYJVPFLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.82%
FrP Bdx Sfz Rfpkgg Dqqhy QlglHZJWWMid-Cap Blend26.03%4.99%11.35%
CbD Pjvxm Xsx Crcbvw Gjwqb YhpmzrWTWPMMSmall Blend20.41%1.48%8.64%
Yhzwxxtxsc SPTT Gcgv Fdhc 198 Mxx QhpLyDGHRGBLarge Growth37.68%10.11%15.69%
Jmy Tnyqbzbl LcjySNYXLarge Blend26.91%8.02%13.88%
Hkwgxyst Pktphhjg Npjmtds Wxzzhh KpCKFRVZDiversified Emerging Mkts13.82%−4.22%3.30%
Wpfsvrdf Rkkqmy Vdgm Cxydjs RsxbdpcJMJQXBGlobal Real Estate7.13%−2.98%0.02%
Bpjtxhhb Ttmshy Ywxfnpxwmbcldb Cnjrp CHJMHPSDWGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.24%7.59%12.76%
Pdfwyvvz Fjphgkflvxtpn Lrnsqw PbykvZPHGForeign Large Blend14.51%3.75%7.78%
Jsjcthct Lfd Xrj PblXVWKVMid-Cap Blend26.16%5.05%11.40%
Wmqnthkv Gvnzd Jjm CxJQQLPMSmall Blend21.61%−0.85%7.49%
Ccpzydjp Rxhgr ZzmjLWGZKFLarge Blend29.11%9.52%14.88%
Rlbtyd Wpclgsbj Kqszrnv Wp Bwy RklHVYFDiversified Emerging Mkts13.92%−4.33%3.39%
Mfhhyz Mqdjvmcc Knplkfy Dl Tkf PFYQNDSWMDiversified Emerging Mkts13.77%−3.64%3.82%
Nyxhlf Zrtjpv Pkrgx CqbxgkxsdQWKKPLarge Blend27.99%8.30%14.10%
Tfldvy Kkdbqs Lcbzk PDLCTPLarge Blend29.00%8.13%14.25%
Xdzszw Srxwmxrvmcrkw Hv Tjf NmwtfjdSJZPForeign Large Blend14.19%3.59%7.71%
Jyhvnp Mlhdhnynxlctw Lb Tlq GHTKKZRForeign Large Blend14.44%3.79%7.92%
Tmtvvl Wqstw Cmh Vlbjw RkSVVZLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Ggykfk Y&H 336 Mgjgq NLWJMZLarge Blend8.73%4.00%
NNKVVXF Y&G 155QXNVBLarge Blend20.96%5.59%11.99%
YnrJpgps Wzjfx Jjb Cdjntm GqhHYLNLarge Growth30.36%7.01%13.76%
FhbDgjwh Jbl Gdc Ycwzsn KyWLBSYMid-Cap Growth27.96%3.54%9.70%
YmbTzfyn Kxx Qwf KfsdZSKQXMid-Cap Blend23.74%3.07%9.24%
ZxwHyvdz Pxq Qbm Ywrhs ZvzWKRYCYMid-Cap Value19.87%2.89%8.79%
Hdyjt W&R 266 WXMQQKKKLarge Blend26.42%8.16%13.12%
KJYZ® GSMF Zgglx Vxtthwrgv YKH TYZ Cv3.84%5.87%9.46%
Tcmxhl 5588 Cjjgl®®LKXCNLarge Blend28.85%9.01%14.56%
Gvtlhq Wfczf Kysm Yg Mf XfqzqcJJDVTForeign Large Value17.33%5.54%9.27%
See which securities made the list. Subscribe to Morningstar Investor today.

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.