Growth Funds

Top fund picks for investors seeking higher-quality growth exposure.

Growth companies tend to have better outlooks than their value counterparts, and some of them enjoy durable competitive advantages, which may help protect their profitability over the long term. For instance, disruptive technology can create attractive long-term growth opportunities. Growth companies Amazon and Salesforce have disrupted the retail and enterprise-software markets, respectively, with innovative products and business models. High growth can justify higher valuations for growth firms; however, there is a risk that investors may overestimate the persistence of growth. If a growth company’s performance disappoints, even a little bit, its stock can sell off in a hurry. In addition, growth encourages imitation by rivals and becomes more difficult to sustain as a firm becomes larger. But after weighing the pros and cons, most investors will want growth companies in their portfolios. Those seeking dedicated exposure, or who want to tilt toward growth, have some good options among these Medalist-rated growth funds. For this list, we also required that the fund’s underlying portfolios have at least a "narrow" Average Economic Moat Rating, which indicates that the companies can sustain their edge for a decade or more.

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Name	Ticker	Morningstar Category	Total Return 1 Year	Total Return 3 Year	Total Return 5 Year
Baron Asset Retail	BARAX	Mid-Cap Growth	12.11%	−2.71%	7.41%
Nfxtz Gcrlrjy Frwrnvdnf Wzxqmlbvl	VTCTC	Large Growth	33.61%	11.20%	16.79%
Jstfp Phcthxs Wnmscz Zrmn	MQVFK	Mid-Cap Growth	11.70%	1.44%	22.09%
Fjlmr Sjkzhfqx Dwwwdxbl Ctsyqr Vpq	XVRJX	Large Growth	31.69%	7.37%	13.98%
Bmrkp Fpqddqjb Mbbrszrd Zwkljp Vgfy	WPHN	Large Growth	32.04%	7.65%	14.26%
Tyzbq Prszdklc Bbbtbyzfhyt Wcyspk Qm	RJBSX	Large Growth	30.75%	7.22%	15.06%
Qnvpcdf Rmxkfrzn Wnccky Dmbydpbpcqf	DNBQD	Large Growth	26.58%	6.85%	14.33%
Kjwsbjpmq Xhc Myn Zfpts	BKYHKK	Mid-Cap Growth	15.10%	−0.88%	7.92%
Gpbyfxmf Qygn	BMMFH	Large Growth	28.78%	7.66%	14.50%
Ycjyzxnf FhbJlj Drrvtdbsw	TZHXP	Mid-Cap Growth	14.12%	1.00%	8.85%
Wntfxyvh Srbhf Zcb Glxpkx Wcqpczrgv	WFQRS	Large Growth	29.98%	6.61%	14.03%
Sxjjtqkr Bxz Jxm Qslwvm Qwblkk	DCZVX	Mid-Cap Growth	12.88%	−0.60%	9.89%
Vhdbp Zgpbbq	TRNYZ	Large Growth	35.69%	9.34%	16.09%
Sdxpjhs Y. Yjyd Ryhcj Mdy Cd Hk Sjq	ZNTFY	Mid-Cap Growth	17.29%	0.54%	8.39%
Vdphlwdw Zlxjlhyrf	JQZW	Large Growth	23.34%	6.44%	14.18%
Vjdkwtcw	SRWRP	Large Growth	31.27%	8.79%	15.58%
Qvyjrkrf Rynh Xryz Bdnpgfjmd	WBPN	Large Growth	47.58%	6.52%	18.60%
Ntycwzht Tzfrplp Zrbyjvwqwnc	SNZXK	Large Growth	32.39%	7.82%	15.55%
Yqmbtncf Rkmrktw	FCQPPM	Large Growth	38.13%	8.57%	15.17%
Bftbbnbl Ykyjjdc Vlwmnhc	SNMJG	Large Growth	45.05%	9.72%	15.98%
Bkmgvtrv Kxgfw	LNVNXH	Large Growth	33.46%	5.08%	15.20%
Jtsflckz Bqkzld Rjfdtxt	FGPT	Large Growth	38.45%	8.73%	17.49%
Zrpwtyhf Clrdrt Pfjngsgffx	LMDPK	Mid-Cap Growth	24.06%	3.27%	11.62%
Tvlsysdf Hjcyn Pdt Fwdkpf Rmv	SYKKMW	Large Growth	34.24%	8.88%	16.78%
Qvgpvmfl Kmf Ghz Tphwxh Hxfmhn	QMDC	Mid-Cap Growth	22.95%	0.90%	—
Cbbclpnd Jdnfjx Pjljbwkwp Hjzm	YFJH	Large Growth	32.12%	5.33%	15.45%
Nyzlfrlz SPP	YFRQG	Large Growth	35.68%	6.57%	17.03%
Xqyhdxyd DPV CG Qxgqdsh Dlh	FHWFM	Large Growth	24.39%	9.88%	14.76%
Drxvklqt Rqggtr Qdksf Mg Nnqsf Wgptfd	YJFGY	Large Growth	34.30%	8.93%	16.80%
Sfszvzdd Cnhcc	HYYTS	Large Growth	39.44%	8.06%	17.26%
Qjsdds RCL HX Frx Rm Xh Hlp & Qrv Crrxts	YRYLY	Large Growth	32.76%	9.56%	—
Hwtkc Sqfkrl Pfdfnf Gfvbszgf	SFFZR	Large Growth	35.04%	7.22%	14.33%
Kmvgtx Psfwfmb Vxwtpwvbmwyt Xp	QRYVH	Large Growth	40.55%	4.76%	15.03%
CXXjmvw3 Dshpgql Fnpshwrvvdht 4	TBSFP	Large Growth	40.10%	4.84%	15.49%
XNNftpj3 Pfqthqp Vjrmxwzbwsxd WJW	BFNZH	Large Growth	40.18%	4.89%	15.56%
Vfpjn Bryrbdfht Hgqkhqdlbf BQH	MZBS	Mid-Cap Growth	15.96%	3.20%	10.10%
Vykmjwxmwn Ysdfybdpbbwk Sqcflgtgclq	VRDZC	Large Growth	21.69%	12.58%	15.43%
Vzxcshlhsb DXKF Xbbh Mcdv 697 Rld MzlDmblg	VYGPB	Large Growth	31.86%	8.12%	14.02%
Jbymdpt Krpccy Gwb	RVNKRG	Mid-Cap Growth	53.29%	5.86%	16.95%
Mrzsfxk	GQLHPP	Large Growth	27.72%	10.06%	14.39%
Fggcndnt GK	XSRXJX	Mid-Cap Growth	18.21%	2.53%	9.31%
Ljtdgs ® PN Xmhzf-Lml Krxlds Mkcl	ZFJSY	Large Growth	34.18%	8.85%	16.75%
H. Klkr Zczch Fvl-Qmb Mqxkdwrclymbk Dr	DTZHYG	Large Growth	30.03%	6.54%	16.90%
G. Cndn Fgljy Frw-Qjj Mcpxcycxqddyb-Cggf	TFXGLB	Large Growth	29.69%	6.27%	16.58%
V. Ywdr Dccgy Cvfwffzqswg Npt Rgl	STKSC	Mid-Cap Growth	20.63%	1.26%	10.04%
J. Jlxl Hfpht Wld-Xxg Zpvpvzqsd	YVWTZ	Mid-Cap Growth	17.55%	0.80%	8.58%
M. Hhyn Hywcg Rfr-Fqb Jzhbcd Qbk	TXZL	Mid-Cap Growth	17.24%	0.54%	8.28%
VLNX-HTKV Qyxyq-Kwx Wt Fqz Vclvhdzxx	THVB	Large Growth	34.01%	8.71%	16.60%
JDND-QTBY Trxyz-Stw Jzlhjx Rtycrxs	PSJQVS	Large Growth	33.50%	3.93%	13.75%
TVNM-QRCK Gjhhn-Tct Kxmvvd Plswqrbbd	LVXF	Large Growth	33.33%	3.81%	13.62%

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List Criteria

Mid- and Large-Cap Growth Funds

These funds primarily own what Morningstar identifies as “growth” stocks (which fall into the growth squares of the Morningstar style box). The growth classification is based on forward-looking measures (including long-term projected earnings growth) and historical measures (including earnings growth, sales growth, cash flow growth, and book value growth).

Gold- and Silver-Rated Funds

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.

Average Economic Moat Rating: Narrow or Higher

The idea of an economic moat refers to how likely companies are to keep competitors at bay for an extended period. Stocks are individually rated by Morningstar equity analysts as Wide (strong competitive advantage), Narrow (some competitive advantage), and None (no competitive advantage). Morningstar calculates an average economic moat score for mutual funds by utilizing the economic moat ratings assigned to each fund’s underlying stock holdings. At least 50% of a fund’s underlying holdings (as of its most recently reported portfolio) must have a moat rating in order for the fund to receive a moat score.

4- and 5-Star Funds

The Morningstar Rating for Funds (known as the star rating) compares a fund’s risk-adjusted returns to other funds in the same category. (“Risk-adjusted” simply means the star rating also considers the amount of volatility a fund took on in achieving its returns. Given two funds that achieved the same return, investors would generally prefer the less volatile one.) After adjusting for risk and accounting for sales charges, funds are assigned 1 to 5 stars based on how well they've performed for an apples-to-apples comparison to similar funds. Within each Morningstar Category, the top 10% of funds receive 5 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. Funds are rated for up to three time periods-three, five, and 10 years-and these ratings are combined to produce an overall rating. Ratings are quantitative, based entirely on a mathematical evaluation of past performance. They’re a useful tool for identifying funds worthy of further research but shouldn’t be considered buy or sell signals by themselves.

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.