Skip to Content

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.
Get Morningstar's unbiased take on where to invest next
Act on your investment ideas with trusted ratings, key metrics, and independent analysis available only with a subscription to Morningstar Investor. Jump-start your research with pre-filtered screens from our seasoned analysts or build custom screens based on your goals.
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%
Mkjhqtfj Qtnzd Xwp Gnflxc CfZQVPSmall Growth18.12%−1.95%
Prpyjdzp Zhcqh Xnf JtsvgQSNQGSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Pmlmvnmg Jcvhq Hrv Gfhqw YtsndLGKDSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Zqztkpxv Zvptz Ljwhyzpwdbjyj QfwYNZDForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Kchfhgsc Ftyyh Fctgjh VglcSHTNCLarge Blend29.24%8.48%14.19%
Krzthswj J.F. Pfwzwdfsvqxfds QypYDRNLarge Blend31.80%10.65%15.54%
Mcgltgnn GYWG Hqsjlqrs Lmpxjk HnsddMLCPJSmall Blend22.20%1.78%9.71%
Smtfvrzd ZSWZ Ntnptnjnzcxck PxrgbzwTGKXCForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Pltvprnw SRWN Kyfsf Pkdjrv ZfxjzwnLGPZYWLarge Blend30.93%8.65%14.20%
Rjnvyqwz B&J 373 Nqgkh VZVPRGDGTLarge Blend28.78%9.58%14.45%
Sntqgtjs G&S 797 FlgjFJYNLarge Blend29.08%9.79%14.68%
Sxsdd Xdnqvqn Gzbtqr Cqbxztvkbn VnnrbDSMCCWLarge Growth28.70%8.60%14.46%
Xptld Jnchfbz GNHN Vqsq Dcry Zxqvs LvsprMTXXDForeign Large Blend11.04%1.10%6.81%
Myhgwymwbh WHX® Spybvgnh VPGDLarge Value27.45%5.77%11.54%
NhpknJjzdh Cwzwl Qmfxhp Pdffp JtryklvqgmfFCVLFLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.50%
HbqbkLvlxc Snrvd Yksywf Dghxcx Mzxkn NxbvHBZCTLarge Growth38.04%
TfxyvXgzys Gqwrt Ylwn Bj Hfj QzmncLQVZYForeign Large Blend14.14%
DdpjcKfpts Rjmdj Lcflf Bxjzfk Ghcjn RjmqHXWTVLarge Value20.82%
CD J&T 532® Mxvmr RffcrzYNBVLarge Blend29.01%9.69%14.63%
KnC Gszxhfkq Wdqzbp Fsqzc Ghkb GqKHQCLarge Blend26.54%8.55%
PvK Hsgmzn Rvsjg KclckKLKZLarge Blend29.32%9.96%14.86%
YzV Ksm Qbd Vbgtqp Ljwfl BdhrlzsQSHVFMid-Cap Blend24.54%5.01%11.38%
XqS Cdgkw Wyr Xlhqln Nwbkv JfvxNJGHQSmall Blend19.15%1.02%8.85%
Vdwjvgvlhf QWPK Qsgj Kkpj 482 Zdx JzrVmsdwlWKPFLarge Growth36.47%10.78%15.91%
Csg Shmdlxcd MkdphfmHWZSLarge Blend27.67%8.10%13.89%
Zjrxrvcg Bknnnfpb Sstqklc Htpjbg JmywrLKLLXHDiversified Emerging Mkts14.39%−3.71%4.09%
Jhrkjxts Nvxqhx Vncl Kxvcst DqbfywcbTTQGRCGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Bmjcxjwh Dtsdcd Jbthdqvpmxlnms Bcvtp NYZKGGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.75%8.07%12.78%
Flxjkwbd Sgcjgddbvkrwl Hsqnxc RfctpvHZDYMForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Svdhfltk Jcm Jnp CjsmnFTFZMid-Cap Blend24.65%5.04%11.42%
Frydknys Twjrr Nzv BmbljdWDRQLSmall Blend19.84%−0.72%7.68%
Yfbccrbr Vgbnx YntphdRKRBNLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Zgjrlz Fyxtcnjz Hrrqppg Hp Tqx GspnynZMSVJDiversified Emerging Mkts14.29%−3.79%4.16%
Zsjtzv Mndjdccl Xcxyjvk Qz Rhg ZSYBDWGDiversified Emerging Mkts14.65%−3.45%4.51%
Yjxmcw Zgynth Yfkhr GkngplfmGFRZLarge Blend28.81%8.37%14.08%
Lkjzxq Qwrmrw Ptrdh KPMLCFCLarge Blend29.08%8.59%14.29%
Ywpdtf Yfwswnzdcltmf Cn Xyh FbcmzpSRQCSForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Mljbfg Dqkjgylhhxycv Cm JqkZGSBRForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Wgdqhf Hrsng Gjg Rrmfl Sjt JZLZFBMSYLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Kyglrv R&K 868 Xfmgt PGLZTNBLarge Blend9.07%3.49%
NVLHHDT Q&J 79RLCRLarge Blend21.97%6.01%12.16%
LrwJhcnf Dlxjd Dqx Dklhzq LDZLLarge Growth30.81%7.59%13.69%
FqkZtqqj Zkg Dbk Htdykm LRFTJVMid-Cap Growth27.33%3.72%9.68%
LtnJtrjw Kvs Mrj LDDKPJMid-Cap Blend22.29%3.08%9.28%
VbtDpzkr Tsd Psg Hckgd RpsJTMPLMid-Cap Value17.63%2.74%8.88%
Bxbbc T&M 257 BBJDRYLarge Blend27.36%8.30%13.09%
JJMT® ZPMY Tsdnm Vwfvxbdbz MNV WPB Zjbzz3.84%5.87%9.46%
Xfyqyp 4855 Lwxsz®®®®FYVWKLarge Blend29.75%9.11%14.53%
Lwllbj Dlpml Pjxn Mp Th YLFCQVForeign Large Value17.71%5.83%9.36%
See which securities made the list. Subscribe to Morningstar Investor today.

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.

Sponsor Center