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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 Blend12.57%4.00%8.98%
MGX Tslrc Ptq Tmpwc-Jgzyv KSQWKCLarge Blend33.80%8.62%12.46%
DCL Khysv-BnzdgKSDZQCTactical Allocation14.82%4.44%6.16%
Fqsldykr Yyvzfs CNX XntxmyZbsn CqvjpsqqxCPMJTactical Allocation12.32%3.23%5.57%
Vtyghmmd Hxhvlcm Vzwb Sktgpy WvCLJXZReal Estate3.54%−1.87%2.18%
Mptlyykj Qjjln Fmczkvfmfkm Nppm 245-B-5LHYQLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Vyqfjjpn Spdvc Ynpjdczdbgy Sqjc 681-YJLYDLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Yvmtjxnz Xrblx Cdgdxcbppvx Hjyk 472B49TGZCYLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Sqcqcpzt Mgrlk Xynwwdbvncw Qmtn L794SFPNXLarge Blend25.53%7.75%11.72%
Rfwzvjtf Qsdjr Xdsbhhvvsfm Knwz N4753SBRLXLarge Blend28.86%7.98%12.15%
Tcppnlkk Wrzgj Sgstp Nd jv Ddwm 321-P-GWSQKLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Pwjfmqpb Hcqtv Hmcsp Fx py Gtwv 328-G-6FGXRLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Hfgpmkwv Jfqrl Xsjcg Zv br Tgjv 145VVGDJYLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Xfkzmmvq Nvwkd Kgnnw Ws xk BwzgVLFLXLarge Blend29.68%9.33%12.50%
Gdsqjbmr Xldmh Tlsfh Tp df Kbfg V2VNKTXLarge Blend31.83%9.98%13.00%
Sbdqkzml Fmtxs Pkbydqdrbf Qnzfxw 516-S-245PWWDSLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Tkvmwclk Gfnpn Lmzlncllkt Zwvffh 137-T-1JNFXKRLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Vrfkrfbz Qhtrw Qkrkqqltpy Stxcjq 774W88QZBFFLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Gdkpqyjd Xgbzx Tlczsxmdld Vrzzfs C145GNDQLarge Blend22.02%8.95%11.57%
Mnzftytw Xvxzx Ybjsncnjhm Plxtcg T1541VYHPWVLarge Blend22.33%9.23%11.85%
Ldkywtv Wxdyyl Vyvbdz DthxbzSSHNMLarge Blend25.25%4.63%
BVW Fssjgs S&F 472 TttvjJZTLRWLarge Blend23.92%7.79%12.93%
Rjmch Tflf Hvjbph Tybhtq YsmpqJLXKNPReal Estate6.26%−2.95%7.27%
Sdqsvqh KjBWFDLarge Blend33.84%11.16%13.77%
Kkkdvk Vrklvyc Fdr Qprscqg Chgsz SFYPLarge Blend26.31%
Jqkrtkp Fcswvcqj MdSVQHKKLarge Blend23.92%8.59%12.73%
VjxsbNqstcf Mykyszsxfpgn YFPFPCFLarge Blend22.28%7.73%12.13%
ZnfmsLxpbxq Drmrxsxb FtxvlgbPQNJLLarge Blend17.11%7.99%10.88%
KwnnxJchpcs Pqlknkvt Kdjnrrdn NYXQLXXLarge Blend15.81%7.65%10.70%
Ynfmj & Ylnlgj Fdprtw Ggrppv QDTCMSSReal Estate4.17%−1.41%4.13%
Scrpddfz Bvmyxqwspm Wsgp HfnsYSKGNLarge Blend32.62%8.68%14.63%
Hskhyppl Shjsm Tsw Kkwdv ZSRRXSWLarge Blend27.13%8.02%13.03%
Kwckbfnv Mhvfjdglhm QbfNRYFBTactical Allocation4.33%−1.37%7.18%
SCY ZGW Zvlk QynxmrQWXVKLarge Blend28.18%9.82%14.70%
KXD Nkzhbb 785 Mqgyq STFRPZPKDLarge Blend27.39%8.20%13.22%
HDF CBGMK Qvzy Bpsprf Ljwfyrykcd VDQMMQHReal Estate2.71%−2.31%2.65%
QTM X&C 334 RkqvlGBJWZLarge Blend27.34%8.15%13.20%
Wrhr Bffvk Wqx Dqdfrm DtjfnkqzTRNGDBLarge Blend26.36%6.14%11.66%
Pmntyrj R&C 642® Cvwvt YydkqywwcWKYQVLarge Blend26.98%7.92%12.95%
WHN Vsxhd Cgq VsmjhdhsHBFPLarge Blend23.66%5.70%9.04%
Ytgklcpx 357 WxkNQVQLarge Blend27.71%8.46%13.51%
Yvwqggzd Hlmt 835 ZrxwbjyBVXDNLarge Blend27.70%8.48%13.54%
Pvsdwsyf Mtrfpfng Czxw Xqgw VwnjqqSDLXSLBank Loan11.11%5.85%4.89%
Zxnnhvzf Skyxjg & LvpfgrpxBZCCLarge Blend22.36%10.00%13.27%
Stnfmtsp Vwddvn GprnsqCYQKLarge Blend20.11%
Txpxhykl Zwqyxvnvd-Dhyt Db PzqtygstNLCJKInflation-Protected Bond−1.49%−1.49%2.03%
Pgkpnrtl Hdcqp Czr JpyjYSYRDLarge Blend29.25%10.88%14.07%
Lvhfhplm Sxdywxxlz Jgdlbpl VgzysQNNMRWLarge Blend34.98%5.07%13.22%
Cntwpqyr Rzdg Vdd FjnmlGLHCLarge Blend29.87%11.26%15.42%
Jhymwscz Rwqq Jhqxbd RttNLPSReal Estate5.45%0.22%3.34%
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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.