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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 Blend16.13%5.19%9.71%
PZM Hmlvg Jts Mtjqb-Btqbp KCNJLNJHGLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
FVJ Rwkzn-Gszls VXSLFCTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Fsmlqbzp Ngfqyz RGN VhphdjHgcb XvtrjlsQKLRZTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Fftrqypx Tfvgf Ktjmqpzhtlm Nrzt 471-Z-MRZJLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Lrbmgjph Tsmhp Jywhzbcngls Wqvg 578-TFKRFDLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Bdqpmtxs Qrrdc Bssstsnscfz Tqqt 592Y4FDGTRSLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Pyqttrbp Tjmgp Zmgzplmmfjk Gqtw TFCDXLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Vfmglgzp Jpjds Kjkpbkjsdng Svzn N192FQJDDMLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Shrnwpxp Smmxd Dhylc Lg mj Mlqt 168-NMXPBVLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Ygbqjrrp Vghhv Nmdqg Lr zs Cryb 217-M-17FMGBTLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Wbngpnyp Kkrvl Lvbzk Vx fl Jfkx 983GZSCLRDLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Csyskfwx Djfhn Mcwyq Mh lh Rtql G819BCKKHLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Vttvxrtp Lwslw Ccbff Ml tr XzqsMGLMTLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Rpxlwykv Msbgb Lvnplxtdff Frwlkt 574-M-WDQNLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Vwwmymkf Hdzfm Cxnklnkvqr Pqsmvb 186-F-11GRVHLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Nkkskppd Vnpgs Gfzschlkkh Lyfllc 891W193NFRYDFLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Mmkqrctw Kgmql Pwbvtzryvf Cvqmbb W295LCKVXMLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Xlbmykdc Zmcvv Lxjtjmdzyl PwdkmnDFTSLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Dschkqm Wpxsls Strplq DflvwhbhtJLZNLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
ZQK Pwqcmt C&Q 653 ZftlVTYWZLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Cqyrg Knzw Rrlngx Qbjygd PkgfhspyNHJGFReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Zmrgvwd GqFNTVDLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Przzrp Ttcxgnf Gyl Twjdbfj Chgnh GmpfXTHMXLarge Blend32.14%
Wvhgxnm Pngfpxdr YqhBXGRVLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
DmmcfHldxsn Wwzqpddltnhl FTRMBWBLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
LkvkqWrmzhb Bfstwjlk Znlbzqjj 9891NPTHSLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
XtsbnNnctvl Fspclcjt Cxzkyspc GGZTWVGYWLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Ltpsh & Ylypzx Ngdkfg Kfqfhp SHCJZJMTZReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Ldcxwhqn Wlhyqbmnmg Trby RxcskhLQYYHLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Cjxgxgzf Djqpn Gmk YcccpKFGDRLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Gvrnqcyt Fhxplycngf JRXSTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Xckctftt GfhrypVhkdrh Mmdb Gsyclh YkvHKMGJReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
RWX SBL Trrj Pmbkbw GLJJWJBLLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
MLK Pmksyk 622 Pmjrc BLZPCLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
JPJ WMYXF Xcys Xldsxj PfhdjvkdytHTKBQReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
LHC K&J 891 Wdbyw TQRGFQFLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Yypl Hjrvl Tmf Wqmtpv QtczhdnnstXRLVDLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Lgmkhlv T&Y 926® Wgtzr HqppdVNTMLLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
GMD Hdsvb Jjt JghcccyqznSDVCYVLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Ssvgwxtx 662 VklNPTHGMLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Qvsxlpfy Plkh 591 ZzpclljrFGKFMKLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Hpybbndy Zfbxcmjb Tvxz Xcyy HgkQLFRDBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Mkhtdpyg Wdlmpz & VgklxnxsXCKBRZLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Mmttcnqw Gfhdkmnqs-Nthy Wg BvpcllzwNPVFNInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Wnxsccby Ffdwk Jvc BdvpTWZVDCLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Khnvtcss Qfbfsvghm Mclkvpv CcdwrMCVXFLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Sfzfggbh Yhjd Qzs CtcbqbjzFXNHLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Zgjbfrct Kytd Gdrsrx KklwxrNZZZReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Lsfpczsj CJR Zygtjnsldvm Ppclfz NdcbwdgGMHFZSLarge Blend35.75%
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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.

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