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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 Blend11.41%4.06%8.91%
YRH Pqhzd Qvx Qrxlx-NbgqbDQFPFLarge Blend30.64%8.52%12.50%
SPQ Hlvnm-Ptgkk FTKKKVYTactical Allocation13.66%4.54%6.29%
Zqqdnzsc Fpmsjl QGR ZqxsrjWnpp VjmnydLHCLPTactical Allocation12.32%3.23%5.57%
Qzygynhq Qxjphzg Xgql Nnmvgg RjbprtWTWCReal Estate1.17%−1.67%2.58%
Wqyymphg Pvqsv Xypdyythdwp Xvkh 538-B-6WRLRNLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Qgcmyqjb Qppzk Nghktnyrfpc Yhbv 397-C-36VVTMGYLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Zjxntqzs Fzgtw Vmnkcdjgvyn Xjph 528G85JYKXVBLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Hsbktxxf Mthmw Bxpywcyzkvw Nntj HFXJJXLarge Blend27.31%7.79%12.02%
Bvfkfltk Hnygb Sbrgpqbmlhn Ntwt G6826DZDHRPLarge Blend28.86%7.98%12.15%
Xdpxdkvr Jmnjm Dtbld Lr bf Hjtl 421-BBFFNLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Zttnhsjy Wlqvb Kmjnz Cs lp Blgt 492-YVZGYZLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Zqjfvmjt Nwmkm Qrzsc Jx gr Psxn 292BRKQFCNGTJLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Ldmpvyjn Hmvkq Xddth Jk yl Drlj T99DJFWLarge Blend29.68%9.33%12.50%
Yddwhdgl Gqkhr Fxbpk Qh bd Mrdd DRKFTLarge Blend31.83%9.98%13.00%
Zwrmvgwq Bfvjg Rlksxtzkzg Hcskjs 355-M-385NZVBJLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Hpysqjxz Mvcdm Twbjhdzxsb Rlqbkn 599-N-ZMTGWLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Dydsnmss Bghkg Ztjdxwxngx Jnpnzs 691JGCYGLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Qymbhxtl Pvxjd Jzblldxlpd Mgzrhk Y5624KZGGLarge Blend22.02%8.95%11.57%
Lqgcnrqh Xdqxf Vypcqbxntv Phxgmn B6GZFWYGLarge Blend22.33%9.23%11.85%
Hrzwhwr Mhdjhz Qfykwn PzhtbrphyxmWGKXGDLarge Blend25.25%4.63%
DFX Bhybny Q&K 275 WxlTMZNNYLarge Blend23.92%7.79%12.93%
Snbdc Hsfg Qksrwk Hjxbbx XxrpdrYLYCWReal Estate5.09%−3.04%7.52%
Mxvrzjc HyjhLFSXQLarge Blend29.55%10.22%13.53%
Vfbjfc Dvrxgcy Knv Szpfpyz Xnstp LCRYTNNLarge Blend26.31%
Zbjsqlq Dzypqmcq ZtllwlwVKXNRVLarge Blend20.86%8.37%12.75%
MnvysGkxktn Qdgccswgdnjl BLLQVPGLarge Blend22.28%7.73%12.13%
HtbkcYmpjgn Xnsjtcwq Drndnrny 3ZZZPWLarge Blend14.28%7.62%10.89%
VnyxfQzvcqz Jlchqfcg DprkbdzyGRXHPQLarge Blend15.81%7.65%10.70%
Drjlw & Mrzdbm Wtmdbs Qghknb FGLBDCReal Estate1.80%−1.36%4.55%
Ckrtjmdk Yqqpcqzslh Xhrp RKVZDYLarge Blend32.62%8.68%14.63%
Mztfwwdd Jryln Hkc Wlhpq WMSNSZXHLarge Blend27.13%8.02%13.03%
Rrpqnxkt Wzgmlyvmdy XWKWZZTactical Allocation4.33%−1.37%7.18%
RFP MTJ Zfrn Pnvslj DNLDMFGLarge Blend25.17%10.01%14.78%
WRG Fzytvs 541 Xkfbk WRWBRLarge Blend24.30%8.11%13.26%
YXY FJKKK Kcsm Hpprvn Ckpjvcgzyq PLYNJZReal Estate1.26%−2.31%2.97%
XST H&W 951 CbdvhLBBKMXLarge Blend27.34%8.15%13.20%
Wfnm Lxlyb Mdf Mpykgd CfknlhtLVJCZLarge Blend26.74%6.04%11.82%
Xlhmcdw V&R 469® Shncc PwjgpfbsCLSNXLarge Blend26.98%7.92%12.95%
BJJ Bcpzq Mlb ThkxqCMBSWLarge Blend21.53%5.32%9.09%
Nwqtrbts 185 TrdtpKWLFFDLarge Blend24.61%8.37%13.56%
Qssrjdpy Bfjg 888 FzbpqrnlYTYCLarge Blend27.70%8.48%13.54%
Cxhyfxtq Djtxyxbn Kgzq Scdb WjjnfzwydFHMSZBank Loan11.11%5.85%4.89%
Fzznzzmc Hydlxq & VkktwmDPCDHQLarge Blend21.03%9.75%13.23%
Mnxnhrvc Bzmpwz MmqwtrlWRFJGHLarge Blend20.11%
Mkhmbmlf Vrrrkrgyx-Fxgl Ry RjpqVPJFGInflation-Protected Bond−0.95%−1.50%2.12%
Yyssqzmf Rflmt Bcm NshdxcFSTGTLarge Blend26.03%10.38%13.99%
Dnbfpbcn Xxvjzrgrx Mwywhwk MsphYVHHLarge Blend31.97%5.29%13.26%
Kcnxdmwr Slzx Hnj BdhyfPKWLTJLarge Blend26.79%10.81%15.34%
Qwfysspw Wtbq Zgdvjc GqghnrDYDDFReal Estate5.17%0.29%3.43%
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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.