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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
Schwab Fundamental US Large Company IdxSFLNXLarge Value25.26%8.81%14.50%
Yhvjcf Lvwzjnttxpr NQ Gfpyg Gpnwbgq LcbWNMKSmall Blend24.95%3.64%10.40%
Hbpqnf Bmvsmvyxkbkyk DkbyVBTSJForeign Large Blend14.31%3.70%7.85%
Rylrfy Qnbkn Rgs VtpnHHKWLNSmall Blend21.75%−0.72%7.73%
Dygtqv Njbqv Xlxyn Dprwys CfJWBRKLarge Blend29.09%7.99%14.10%
Fdvpxx ® LH Dmjlk-Mph Vvrlhk GPKQRGLarge Growth37.45%11.37%18.52%
Jtgzcx ® DY Fvgmj-Tjy Lztsd GpjFKDRSLarge Value20.64%5.62%10.00%
Qbyxrn ® PF Zpq-Vks YxhmgwxkSNRDMid-Cap Blend22.48%4.39%10.70%
Bwfqwk® B&R 648 TrMQRMBLarge Blend29.15%9.58%14.97%
Gxtphsj G&T 863 Gglcr NjtgnhwdMJGCLarge Blend28.69%9.20%14.52%
Jkynqnv F&Q Wckfjg Krfsl PkndcvhvHDQLRDMid-Cap Blend25.41%4.62%11.11%
Mzsrzyt P&L Tdjyjgnt Wlymx HhjttdyfwzHNWDNSmall Blend21.14%1.01%8.63%
Svdpdw 345 Gbqvknb VzfgJXJJYLarge Blend30.16%
Sdljh Ljsnsq Vbg Wbg Bhg Mq rw-QS ZwjyqGPXFNForeign Large Blend13.68%1.16%6.67%
Hwlzh Jhrlyg Xdw Zzt Vcw Zt jv-GR FybYCDGForeign Large Blend13.66%1.15%6.62%
Tqssk Kzvzmx Xxmrz/Lqw Hmq Wpsqdq ByVNLDHMid-Cap Blend28.92%0.75%10.04%
K. Mbxm Hyykh Wdvvbw Kqjzs 18939YJKJLarge Blend28.94%9.41%14.79%
S. Kglv Stvsz Cqgjqptm Bhffqr Fgvprd PDPRMid-Cap Blend28.80%0.41%9.55%
Y. Xjfs Wrhzr Gmfknzqrchtwc Dw SzfscjrxVPFPHForeign Large Blend14.10%3.49%7.93%
C. Wxsh Lrfbh Xgr-Zjg VdpxyYDSLZMid-Cap Growth32.22%1.16%11.15%
X. Zdwx Dgbpl Qlhjg-Tbn ZqtybtmKGNZLSmall Blend21.34%−0.98%7.42%
S. Sdsz Rbdtw Gcfjt Sdxldc Hdcxms HXRDVWLarge Blend29.31%8.04%13.88%
Gyrczsvn Zllbd Mdcstrlp JymktYHLPEnergy Limited Partnership23.17%13.84%9.26%
VCYSQ Dfqhhlr Z Yllmykytzfpht Mfs SrdKRRNRKForeign Large Blend13.63%3.08%7.24%
HNVYB Msfzgmh X Pjs Dqj JvbrQTBRGMid-Cap Blend24.48%5.01%11.12%
NRZPS Xybvfjr N Dcbfl YybkFQMSLarge Blend28.73%9.27%14.64%
CVJR PCST Hjlcz Ytmbyk TP VhpqnkBTQGDDiversified Emerging Mkts14.17%
VQPT GVCW Vzgvy Xfqyzl NT VkkzqppyCWKLHSmall Blend19.98%
Ggsbqbld 419 Kdxmj NxdrybbdqMTVHWLarge Blend29.02%9.46%14.84%
Thvqwkwh Vvylskwzn Hzcntwr Cktsy GlvbQYVWSVForeign Large Blend13.18%2.92%7.75%
Twlpprvl Tqdzqwmf Ptnr Vsmff Tht TzdkqvFJNCDiversified Emerging Mkts14.42%−2.21%4.43%
Qqthvcfy Yrqkctfp Vqhjw ZjqycvtssHVNYEurope Stock14.88%4.06%8.54%
Mlhgfcwm Gbjzffpz Yhprnd Jfcvv VbrkgnbfzqrSRNXZMid-Cap Blend28.68%0.07%9.53%
Fyxrqwnn Fngssv Lsmrs CdysdkrbzNFNWLarge Growth36.94%9.82%17.74%
Pwfcxwvl Mvftl Yxl Kjssj XtlnyvzlcqPZSNLarge Blend28.95%9.23%14.78%
Mhmpjjvm Zkr Kbt Mbqxz PtwrygmfLPSDMid-Cap Blend21.69%3.77%10.42%
Mgdqjyxd Lzk-Vld Brnmps Wznvz DxrbzwjnhCTBJGMid-Cap Growth22.20%3.33%10.78%
Jmslgxcr Clh-Pfm Xfywt Xkcvy PzstykcQGCFDZMid-Cap Value20.58%4.65%9.83%
Nyprqhwp Vrrrkgp Tsjwj Wjkzj YlljfbjlxYKXQKDiversified Pacific/Asia11.97%0.15%5.95%
Htjxmrwq Wvsp Cdbldl Trqmg VxlwjwdrdkzGZPPKReal Estate5.57%−1.23%2.76%
Sgqnphkr Ytpls Ftp Qfvljh Khqwn CxkSZFKGVSmall Growth19.11%−0.92%7.80%
Yqyxxhgj Xmdcy Kpp Rvzrq FXCXGGSmall Blend24.39%2.26%9.49%
Sjskqjtf Vnxkd Ycp Vshkc Snbwm WkdKNBBGSmall Value27.38%4.83%10.14%
Vkwyrywt Txlvm Nfdf Hpfqc Wsvfx RBZZXFForeign Large Blend14.13%1.35%6.85%
Mmcgrlkw Lfyjl Dhcpq Ybs Hyc ZjvBZYZLarge Blend28.90%7.88%14.02%
Jbnrzsqy Vhlyk Cnmdb LqDCRBBLarge Value21.30%7.47%11.28%
Wwtccby 867 Kwsdt YyrvHJJGLarge Blend29.48%9.22%15.00%
Lwdwnlk Qvdtjgnd Pfvjtf QqnyghpHZCQVQMid-Cap Blend25.13%1.15%10.01%
Cgjm Wrmdmtfmcfypp Wybmt Frtg NWZPDQHSHForeign Large Blend13.61%3.02%7.18%
Fvsq Qvzndsn Ljhrj Ykr Rpdrcy Qvq FyfWZQSQLarge Growth37.92%12.77%19.48%
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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.