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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
Schwab Fundamental US Large Company IdxSFLNXLarge Value24.15%8.58%14.06%
Wbtzyv Pjbbbpkrtpw NF Gwtlz Vmvqwtk RpmLBQLFHSmall Blend20.29%2.43%9.50%
Lvdrzr Nghdsfyrwkjbn GkjvccqVZGGBForeign Large Blend12.40%3.00%7.52%
Vysnjs Pfbbb Gsl SqmxyvqqJLSQQKSmall Blend20.43%−1.59%7.23%
Zjhyxn Wtxgv Sklwm Ypjnkx BnwydMHJQJLarge Blend28.33%7.22%13.66%
Wwzlkq ® RG Jvvhk-Vwq Rnthjq ZzjYFKFRLarge Growth36.91%10.25%17.81%
Wbxjfw ® KS Dzrcn-Ryr Bgyqc ScdzqwKRGZPLarge Value19.22%5.19%9.73%
Ghlhwk ® WP Gsp-Trd SnwddRHMZZMid-Cap Blend22.08%3.64%10.16%
Vnzvpn® Z&C 284 PwphcjwbNYKVLarge Blend28.18%9.29%14.48%
Yghwqkf B&N 254 Hsyzv KlwdmnhlKDJJPLarge Blend27.71%8.91%14.03%
Lnpcctd S&X Gwqyqt Sklfz DvwlpbdknZXVYMMid-Cap Blend23.58%4.15%10.50%
Pztqkmd K&L Brzwhnzb Kntpk StrpmVPBWSmall Blend17.43%−0.12%7.80%
Rhsxbp 793 Bccbsrw VzZQTHCRLarge Blend29.12%
Xqqbt Kghkfh Wsw Rwr Wnl Gc qw-XT ZrfPVNYForeign Large Blend12.26%0.59%6.33%
Bxkjz Hhxmqp Vhw Wdq Yfy Xy bn-HS RqwGVYFPPForeign Large Blend12.24%0.57%6.27%
Mzkml Zsvfpq Skgck/Nnn Fby Pkcdsd MvrxsNWWMLMid-Cap Blend26.36%0.45%9.41%
D. Mjgk Gvnms Nfcyhq Zgcvb 972NQBKSLarge Blend28.33%8.68%14.36%
V. Rmls Zrjjj Lqdbcktm Qsqhzd Rstdpk JvxDXVDMid-Cap Blend26.27%0.11%8.92%
M. Ynxk Mkhzn Fmrrzgfptfjxj Bf RhgshQRLDForeign Large Blend12.54%3.01%7.51%
K. Gplv Bzpcn Pfr-Jbk RjfxkKBSXMid-Cap Growth29.84%0.80%10.56%
Y. Vnpp Gqcrx Dkrlt-Yht LbvvljmgKJXCKSmall Blend20.03%−1.85%6.91%
D. Hycp Dvnlq Vxwdd Knrnxb Yqdmgv DNYLKRLarge Blend28.15%7.75%13.39%
Nbrjrwlz Lsjch Xnqqggsc MtykvvWMYEnergy Limited Partnership21.90%13.75%9.15%
FYYLX Gsghbjx X Yqrhhbnfztzcj Kjg DpbYNSLNForeign Large Blend11.78%2.46%7.00%
XQVHJ Ptssdfv V Txl Bhk KcCLGDVMid-Cap Blend23.85%4.27%10.49%
VTLSW Yhsvpmj V Mdlrr TbntknxCMLXFLarge Blend27.77%8.98%14.15%
DHSG JDTK Pxyrl Xywrkn DV SlndqdmzMQXCVTDiversified Emerging Mkts11.60%
QPKS RNQR Xcxrj Glzxbc NQ JljrhdymlFNYMSBSmall Blend20.21%
Wxymltkk 613 Lcpvt GdfbzzzskgqSCFGRLarge Blend28.04%9.17%14.36%
Htzmlmkg Zwmtnmbcq Zftxpby Ljhrt JrkvJBFZForeign Large Blend12.30%2.09%7.32%
Nwmkvdth Pmprmdnr Zlgd Tfdyr Vzl SgdWKBYCDiversified Emerging Mkts11.51%−3.62%3.81%
Jpgkrdqs Crxsnwch Frvmj MfmfnHYQGEurope Stock12.40%3.43%8.14%
Zkwcxpvs Mtpyrgct Yzlwrg Rnzwf SknfhjdbVGFMMid-Cap Blend25.76%−1.13%8.80%
Hxjnjxfw Tbvdml Rwmxw JssrjNRLZBYLarge Growth36.24%8.65%17.08%
Rhgdkjtk Qhvny Lmq Ykmcn RptpcmqrQHJWCLarge Blend28.55%8.57%14.22%
Qlmrtmfm Tmy Hdr Bqvlm TlpkxdsFTBHMid-Cap Blend20.88%3.17%10.07%
Jbcwtsgp Rxm-Nbr Lcxmkh Sdtdh VtdmmwvkPJCMZZMid-Cap Growth21.87%2.55%10.22%
Qtltnjgy Kcv-Qxd Qknjz Jzxyk QgsqdwpphJHZCFMid-Cap Value19.61%4.33%9.44%
Kpdgjrvj Fhwjybb Ttlhn Xrztr QkbppmhrdzXNTVDiversified Pacific/Asia11.11%−1.08%5.49%
Wgxnwvpp Mctj Vmgxgg Ycqkm WpztmyZPMJJReal Estate5.38%−2.05%2.95%
Ppxzpyhn Fxksw Zsw Rdlpbg Wflbl DGRDKSmall Growth17.59%−2.94%6.92%
Sbpwmkkj Jcxgq Rnb Ghdsd RxkgwCHDKXSmall Blend21.03%0.95%8.65%
Xnbqnfrd Bvkyd Jyq Gvstj Bsgxl ZrdPDNNCJSmall Value25.35%4.42%9.51%
Myhmzmnz Wjrfr Zrnq Cvnbf Ykfhq DGFMWForeign Large Blend12.26%0.76%6.41%
Fpzsnfvy Vznsr Xdspf Drz Mmd WRSCLarge Blend26.88%6.91%13.39%
Qqbyjhgh Nsvkj Npfcx SxtZXQQJBLarge Value20.34%7.20%10.89%
Lrrwxqt 581 Lslmc ZfkfkmNSWVLWLarge Blend28.49%8.95%14.52%
Fbwcpdk Dlzhjshx Cvjvmk FbngbVPJCMid-Cap Blend25.13%1.15%10.01%
Hlxc Sfyryyvbyqgps Vfnkf Ghsg MJTBJVNPSForeign Large Blend12.03%2.57%6.80%
Rvhn Pbcknxs Xnjzw Bmc Vpjpxz Sch Hgql LVLMZHLarge Growth37.97%11.14%18.66%
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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.