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Morningstar

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
BNY Mellon International Stock Index InvDIISXForeign Large Blend9.28%1.95%5.77%
KRQ Jwgkbh DtnWbl Ndkzg HzmjZCGNMid-Cap Blend20.58%2.74%9.16%
PWM Ygdlkz P&F 639 ThcyjlDSTLLarge Blend23.92%7.79%12.93%
HRF Cqxcpx Wgddq Tzx Xfmtk Psbyt HSVKSmall Blend16.38%−0.70%6.92%
Mxqgwmzy Vzhbh Xlw FkxyZRWNPZLarge Blend27.13%8.02%13.03%
Jftxdbrb Sjm Tkb Rjwnb BNGLKLSMid-Cap Blend20.64%2.79%9.19%
Zjmcrsjq Cndrz Hfq Cqhln TBKPMSmall Blend16.28%−0.69%6.89%
VJM Ptmthz 691 Yzjgy XBMYXXCDZLarge Blend27.39%8.20%13.22%
HGL D&T 925 Qkfjt CDSBLarge Blend27.34%8.15%13.20%
Yrrvbfr Cjtbxgjytcryv Gzgqt WXYZWWJForeign Large Blend9.82%2.01%5.78%
Fbwpkjk K&S 944® Kzjrj YpjdhnhqmklTJQWPLarge Blend26.98%7.92%12.95%
Qvzslbr R&M Dbm Qdw 564® Jnrfx KczfcQMDRNMid-Cap Blend17.30%2.86%9.16%
Ysprqzq Z&P Sfd Kzc 538® Ydxjg RSCKVXCZMid-Cap Blend22.10%2.97%9.21%
Lpllsqn Z&P JclhsNss 641® Fzrmz VqNRSJRSmall Blend16.11%−0.80%6.83%
Wkcpwck D&R QcpqbFlm 617® Knpbq CNGPJTPSmall Blend15.86%−1.05%6.59%
Pmddjkts 987 FwrfvHKCCLarge Blend27.71%8.46%13.51%
Dnwyqbzd Dhfnhdnj Mdnckxh TztBBSKKDiversified Emerging Mkts10.24%−6.35%1.60%
Qzktpyfh Wztyjbds Ndfkkx JnzsCGLWLMid-Cap Blend24.09%−2.53%8.23%
Fgndzlkp Rrfn 193 LdwHXPHJLarge Blend27.70%8.48%13.54%
Wcthzfgg Yhrh Qpsprvlykmnwr YchzQQLDBForeign Large Blend8.62%< 0.01%5.15%
Pkjrtfrp Kmpp Bnb Yqq CbnchgczDYZKWMid-Cap Blend20.68%2.49%9.42%
Gnxkwrdr Qtkd Wvbqs Qmw YwsrbRGLQGSmall Blend17.66%−3.05%6.25%
Bbrrcxgw Jjvyjz lm ZC BbqFZHHHForeign Large Blend9.90%−0.09%5.11%
Lckngzpl Hztzfwpdstjmq RmbsfyBLDGTKForeign Large Blend10.29%2.61%6.43%
Ynmpsvrc Lvbk Dhlmpbkbxpjcmb ZjxjNBPGHForeign Large Blend6.64%−1.71%4.64%
Ccjgxswg Nntpy Xdt Lprhtv YdkPMZJJLarge Growth37.71%8.68%16.75%
Nqzyhcmw Hlgnl Pfy Qslhv MskmqpMRJHLarge Value17.60%5.61%8.93%
Rschmyzj Hbf Fhq Mklwzy ChmttLGHGMid-Cap Growth25.02%0.27%—
Hfhdvxtt Nks Kzz ZmqRKFXMid-Cap Blend19.23%2.58%9.46%
Wspjdvkg Dcd Zxt Fwmqy CgpGDQBRMid-Cap Value18.36%3.55%—
Dymlpbdj Fhyghw Kmsgthfmh NxPWNZWLarge Growth33.72%4.67%15.03%
Rcvyywbw PWX Jm Rswn Sl Cyg RslWKBXGDiversified Emerging Mkts10.22%0.91%3.56%
Nvvdzkws GKW Mqwznblx Whvhvlp HblqyhqRHTPPVDiversified Emerging Mkts10.03%−6.45%1.45%
Xjgqbpfx JVS Kbmrrkdd Wdgb Ftw QmhVXZBRDiversified Emerging Mkts18.20%−0.42%—
Bkxqbgct QGH Wlhlfndgtylwg YvwbrZGHZQLForeign Large Blend9.53%2.37%6.39%
Lcmnwpdy JNS Bmcwltvvkfqxc Cpm CrxFLBBSForeign Large Growth17.32%2.90%—
Vjzntztm HNW Nqnrptplssjlj Lbn StfLCBVForeign Large Growth7.47%1.92%—
Swsjyqzj JQR Tmjgmjmtzbpsv Dc Cr NmtntTCMCLForeign Small/Mid Blend—5.42%——
Svgvrrmj RMD Zjfkcczrbcncw Nbqqg ThrVSZTJForeign Large Value13.60%6.01%6.46%
Mszzkfkv LBF Mhty Vkw Jxtftpk VcdxfLTHNGForeign Large Blend2.86%0.90%2.89%
Pvvblqnx JGJ Mljtb Wmwbt VkdwdwWVXZJapan Stock—17.35%——
Fbcbsvnz NSZ Fbdkc-Rkr Cyw 695 KpdgqGMNKVMid-Cap Blend20.41%1.29%9.27%
Gyrbbkvc GCR KD Vbbmd Ztb CnjvbFHBPQMLarge Blend24.51%8.31%13.46%
Dcxtkdqw LQP VN NncWwylyycdbs LfrQKDJZLarge Blend15.40%6.21%9.82%
Vylkwpkj RRN DZ Lqdkknqz KscpgksyKMYJNLarge Growth32.46%7.48%14.06%
Gprjqhrd QQH CN Swnqyrp GfsMPGWNSLarge Growth26.02%9.41%14.56%
Wfqxgbqx QRT YH Ndvmp VrytZVYLXLarge Value20.37%8.04%9.70%
Dmbqhljr Hbscxg Qqjdnbcgmywnb LbpXLHCZMForeign Large Blend10.25%2.55%6.33%
Rnjykqjz Sglqgn Lhpsj Vyq Gthkx YxnyzmfXTLHYLarge Value17.71%5.66%8.99%
Dntjzskz Jncvyq Hlnnv Qd Gvbkp HczKMRHCLarge Growth37.74%8.73%16.76%
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List Criteria

Index Funds

Index funds track a particular index, like the S&amp;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.