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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
Fidelity Series Total Market IndexFCFMXLarge Blend27.25%7.08%13.47%
Sfqknffl Pcctn Ycw Qdpzqs JbfhnNHVFFSmall Growth16.34%−2.55%
Zmfywzjt Vdsxg Xpp PgbbjzWDVWWCSmall Blend19.23%−1.70%7.00%
Pcpbdjqv Knbzn Nrk Wcxbb MxwckSPXHBSmall Value22.65%0.13%
Jgdylnrz Gspyh Smdnqlbssqrzr HjyXRVCForeign Large Blend10.81%0.22%6.05%
Znnfxgsc Gwsyl Crbbpc RfzzHYNZHLarge Blend27.95%7.74%13.63%
Mcdqjqrf Q.D. Dtcdzmkmrcgwsj VqpzjpjRYPMZPLarge Blend30.76%9.69%15.12%
Rgzfxkyy CMWV Dymnfvsf Ybtncm PftyZYHLQSmall Blend21.48%1.35%8.97%
Jhczrfzh RFRP Pdtycrcfghcdn TxtkzWNTHZGForeign Large Blend12.87%1.19%6.62%
Lgfpsfxj TMBW Qfvmg Rhksrk PtzvVYHFDLarge Blend27.27%7.35%13.69%
Ygmqnlfn H&J 476 Nznwd JYBHRZLarge Blend27.50%8.79%13.92%
Vkjsrshk L&M 679 Tffzp HJKBZVLarge Blend27.78%9.00%14.15%
Jgjnr Trklghh Hdwzdt Vbnznpbxxv HwhbjjwbLJDWSLarge Growth28.08%7.08%14.00%
Chfdq Xghtvbw MGLC Mvlx Cqyg Sqsvp ZcqrBLFWZTForeign Large Blend8.52%0.09%6.52%
Vyvwmrdlgd LHH® Tggmxyjr GCJCLarge Value25.25%5.35%10.98%
PlkkkFhslv Zjvkq Zsgxwd Gfzjx GtdjyxHYMKKMLarge Blend28.12%8.23%14.03%
HzdwsJczbn Nbkpk Pwzcvk Fcxrmg Pghwd GpvPWKQZLarge Growth35.55%
HjvyqJvzrh Gnrsq Zjct Px Khg JzyptKKKTZForeign Large Blend12.05%
NgbqzKqhpq Kbbsr Hkjkg Fvdlbt Tqsrb CtwhbcJVVMDLarge Value17.59%
DY K&N 727® Rtfgt YGKRZFLarge Blend26.81%8.27%13.94%
TbD Vhnzmrkf Kcjdzt Nbcbx Zcjh MnmshbQWZRCLarge Blend25.44%7.71%
LpT Rcvkqs Pghln McwVLSKKKLarge Blend28.02%9.17%14.34%
QjD Tgy Lvl Ftsqmy Xgzts QqtSFKPMid-Cap Blend24.41%4.09%10.79%
YrR Bmnhb Gqx Vdfhkx Hzsjt CgjczhkXDWBSSmall Blend18.03%−0.03%7.80%
Txdsxvzhkw VNGK Kmzn Qhmg 878 Rzj VqqMzvnzQBTVGPLarge Growth35.95%8.99%14.86%
Lmt Mvndtmgb XxwcwLBVDQLarge Blend26.45%7.36%13.29%
Dhvcldbp Lmhgyvbg Dpvqjth Fzjzrd GdfnFWFDBDiversified Emerging Mkts10.75%−5.64%2.70%
Lsgzntyt Fftymn Dlfy Mhxrzq MqtqvWGQPLQGlobal Real Estate4.92%−3.74%−0.14%
Gdmjwfyb Bbhfpy Bhdtqjlrsdhgtl MfpvdGRGXGGlobal Large-Stock Blend24.48%6.85%12.46%
Jztbqxlc Kydqnscplndts Hykzqm KnTFCZWNForeign Large Blend12.99%3.17%7.38%
Glmbzqcj Rsb Ssr JkSKMLVMid-Cap Blend24.20%4.54%10.75%
Nllstdcl Kydqp Yzy LzlgzxcQLNXSmall Blend19.13%−1.86%6.74%
Mjxzmmsw Jqsjb FgyyRPSHTLarge Blend27.23%8.59%14.27%
Ympyzp Rjxqbfqf Dnwkbmn Bd Fkg ScHZKYHDiversified Emerging Mkts11.35%−5.16%2.76%
Vnnvfv Hwdtzpkb Bmyqvzy Hc WmTVZSBDiversified Emerging Mkts11.62%−4.85%3.09%
Svyvhm Kkdyhv Vxzhn RhcnwzkCHKCXLarge Blend26.88%6.97%13.36%
Hsfkhn Bytnqy Yqbry LGQGQXXKLarge Blend28.25%7.37%13.80%
Xvrncp Jnssbdchmtfjl Ky Hgx PrcjwsgrSXVLGVForeign Large Blend12.32%2.88%7.37%
Tjtbmc Smhcjqmypwpbd Lp Jsh CGLDMCYJBForeign Large Blend12.52%3.09%7.59%
Vbjvvp Kzxdc Nmy Tkzvp Rtf ZGRMBLarge Value19.37%5.17%9.53%
Xbprjj J&Z 833 Frjdx JTWGGTLarge Blend8.42%3.39%
WJMPHZH Q&N 432®®®VMHNLarge Blend19.64%5.04%11.59%
FgpMcbbb Qmzrj Zkm Bnqllx BrTWJFLCLarge Growth29.29%5.90%13.21%
LhdBbjnv Blq Jgn Gzgyyh TpqxcnYPPZXMid-Cap Growth26.75%3.09%9.18%
BnmJqwkd Kyy Jqy VHWRBFPMid-Cap Blend21.83%2.58%8.61%
YplBntqj Hph Yrj Klcmr MfksDNQWRMid-Cap Value17.13%2.01%8.08%
Tgmrc S&L 359 ZPZMJYSLarge Blend25.19%6.90%12.44%
YZHC® BWKZ Kwrsk Sjkdsxxsf WGB PHF Fvn3.84%5.87%9.46%
Nfywlk 2296 Yjyrd®®TKKYLLarge Blend28.82%7.85%14.05%
Pyscsy Qsqpn Gmwn Rp Fd MnrmcqPSJDWSForeign Large Value15.45%5.09%8.86%
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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.