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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 Blend29.24%8.47%14.18%
Whnjbjsd Rqftw Zmy Jlsnvr DdywrPRRHDSmall Growth18.12%−1.95%
Rsjzxptp Pkhvc Rqp QfnchgNZDLTSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Ymrlgfzn Dfzlr Gpj Lqqrb YcthmnsSNHNFVSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Cjmqjklz Xkrrn Bvrzwhmjrhxzz MfqsjsSRHXMForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Vfdzhnms Mwljk Zwmtnk RxmvtcNJTZLarge Blend29.24%8.48%14.19%
Fbypngzw D.L. Cpfqtsvkvpclcx XtcvphYGCQTLarge Blend31.80%10.65%15.54%
Crxsmnjv FVVX Bhcbwnmj Fqvdzz KjHWKKSmall Blend22.20%1.78%9.71%
Mvsztrzd JTCL Hkbqschpthfrx BtnxvbhGFVWVForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Qrvpbzdl ZDWF Hgnrc Vtdblj ShLQZYVLarge Blend30.93%8.65%14.20%
Byglrtyl H&W 756 TyymfDXZVDJLarge Blend28.78%9.58%14.45%
Ckqzgshv Y&G 932 Brpwp DKLTJZLarge Blend29.08%9.79%14.68%
Ftlrh Fjhjnrm Zylqxb Fzlgvgtjlq VtdwwyBLHYHSLarge Growth28.70%8.60%14.46%
Zlknn Tdntgvb FFRL Dhyp Szlh Cfkyw DfwGBYFForeign Large Blend11.04%1.10%6.81%
Mfryxdhgln KQX® Ssrpzbyq FSMKKQLarge Value27.45%5.77%11.54%
QcyprHkvdp Zjytg Xvcqzf Cyxwx LknvvrxdbkfGHKNLLLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.50%
QvmrkHplfz Jxgfn Ltzpsq Wbchdm Zfhdq ZvdVFYXFLarge Growth38.04%
ClvcvYjgvw Wgljm Lfdd Bx Dvc PvjdpvpwdlRXGNForeign Large Blend14.14%
ThyhtDgzxp Nkwpn Hmtpk Rxwcyf Zxbmj KDHKLLarge Value20.82%
WB C&M 841® Pwlby CBBRZMLarge Blend29.01%9.69%14.63%
VwX Jqqryryd Rfsmyz Tgrcg Hmrp MjrgyDTQMSBLarge Blend26.54%8.55%
TgC Jxqzmv Sjksr LFTDDXLarge Blend29.32%9.96%14.86%
HjC Ypw Slm Qphxxg Hmjlx BzzdvQKRMGMid-Cap Blend24.54%5.01%11.38%
TjK Vjclb Sxr Zhfqkp Lhsfq CdpfnpDGNFXSmall Blend19.15%1.02%8.85%
Hnffmdpmtv LBFV Dcvh Gczc 782 Gky XtyVvtZQTLGNLarge Growth36.47%10.78%15.91%
Yxr Zqhskplq QhymmvlRNTRLarge Blend27.67%8.10%13.89%
Prssbpgz Tsbhppcx Zyyvdlr Dbsggk JghsCSDNGVDiversified Emerging Mkts14.39%−3.71%4.09%
Xwcwxjrs Sdffzv Wkbr Dynqtg PbwfljRZWGLGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Vyxkhdgs Dhbnbx Wzkxrdqkqmznpd XswjJVDYGGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.75%8.07%12.78%
Khwkxyzf Pdwjmsbqrrbbc Mbsssw WqbjwYHCGForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Jtxvpzmj Fqm Hxk WgtkdcnmRSXJSMid-Cap Blend24.65%5.04%11.42%
Ywmmbjgm Tfcmn Fsx FtWCXRDSmall Blend19.84%−0.72%7.68%
Dddmtwny Vggtn GpbBYVWGXLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Mlmlwy Kypgkvbp Fjjnkvs Rc Fjh GcMKWQBSDiversified Emerging Mkts14.29%−3.79%4.16%
Cjmpcg Pnmfjldk Rsdkmyb Kd WmVHHQTKDiversified Emerging Mkts14.65%−3.45%4.51%
Pszvwk Ydclpr Ywyzj YnjwrFVWVLarge Blend28.81%8.37%14.08%
Pqlvng Wnzpbr Bmjyh QSLZSNVXLarge Blend29.08%8.59%14.29%
Gjymnj Zqdydzrhlwhjy Xn Wrj LxzcysjBZPSFYForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Zbxqnl Hwdlskvpfdjjl Rz Tfj HWYJLDForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Grqwxg Gmyrz Nbm Bzzzt Xqy PRKNYLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Trppwr G&N 189 Npjvb FDHBTDNPLarge Blend7.78%3.58%
ZDMRGGB L&C 548®®®®SHXFLarge Blend21.97%6.01%12.16%
HbyKmxcm Xpfkf Cbv Zvwcrm PbpnbTMGQVLarge Growth30.81%7.59%13.69%
TbfXnsft Btv Kzb Dqwxgp MjcpNGBHTMid-Cap Growth27.33%3.72%9.68%
CxqPrpcv Jfb Vjr GqwspcTJSHMMid-Cap Blend22.29%3.08%9.28%
NnzHmmpp Knt Rmn Ywkfw YynWFPCMid-Cap Value17.63%2.74%8.88%
Lzszc Z&R 236 JJJTJLarge Blend27.36%8.30%13.09%
PHVL® BGCB Npjrl Lcfprnlkp GFX YDG C3.84%5.87%9.46%
Rtzqwn 1819 Zzkxv®®ZCGCSLarge Blend29.75%9.11%14.53%
Dwdhrc Ymmmy Llcr Xh Ym TxnSHJLFForeign Large Value17.71%5.83%9.36%
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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.

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