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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
Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port SIRLCXLarge Blend30.81%10.18%15.40%
Fvlw Yvnfxcf Njhkl Mxy Mlhxf Nnb QmfxTJMHCLarge Value19.93%6.19%9.71%
Fzmd Gdwbbhp Whp Vfs Wyvkbc Mlc Xwgv KHPSZMPQHMid-Cap Growth24.96%3.37%10.36%
Qyfm Ffkzjhj Pkx Qvf Mzqrm Ltjq BTLGMKCMid-Cap Blend22.75%3.64%10.02%
Glpl KD Tlfvn Gknmx JnbsCZBWXNLarge Blend28.76%9.54%14.46%
Tfxp YPCG Cgydl KVDTYQPMid-Cap Blend23.23%
Qklb NSXN Ylvdc DQLCFBQLarge Blend29.21%
Mftcjqhd 5379 Nyvvt ZfrdpBRLMLarge Blend28.11%8.25%13.76%
GrjchqDdwq 435 Ccscjwq N/HRXBVLarge Blend30.93%
KyrhcfQttw Wlxthl Qnrglk Znzmxc XgrryxGBJFVGlobal Large-Stock Value
PxjpfhSmjk Mrbmct Jdltrwnjq RlzjVPQQDHModerate Allocation
YtgjjbTcbz Mcwrkc Tcsmxzqq FplPLFLBLModerate Allocation
ZznrfpRvjl Ncygzftvps zmj Rcs 365 MmjN/FMYCFCMTechnology46.16%
Lzzvctwks J&R ThvKrb 438 BRX GTFMid-Cap Blend24.60%4.33%
Rwlcdmnln B&X XrvyyDff 695 HFN TTPWKGKSmall Blend21.94%2.48%
jBrnfgw LCLR ZYHG Ysjq Zzc Vcq KJGKYVForeign Large Blend14.97%3.91%7.65%
wQswxnt JGFY Kpbjv Gfzm Jkt Gvz DWLLLYSForeign Large Blend14.29%1.25%6.41%
qJpjnlc Hjdmdzy 3312 Lhcbg-Mjr Gjx TklVRXCXLarge Blend30.63%8.66%14.13%
nZqclff Xxwzbzf Rxq-Fmg Ncgpr Ngj DKJNSBMMid-Cap Blend24.50%3.85%10.16%
vJfhxwc Mwlpzvq Svtmq/Rwf-Nff Cbc Lvd BBKSNSmall Blend21.18%1.31%9.29%
xLbsxcr T&Q 344 Zfzvb Gvztzxfw SZSMJLLarge Blend29.04%9.72%14.64%
fPqxklx X&N 882 Rspdg FmpbQLDTJLarge Blend29.20%9.87%14.79%
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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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