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 Foreign. Index Funds pick list includes top-rated passive funds from our foreign fund categories.
Foreign Index Funds
Name
|
Ticker
|
Morningstar Category
|
Morningstar Analyst Rating
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity® International Index | FSPSX | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Lzkjlms Lgmsc GtxyvfYxjl® Sysm Rf GXBV | KVRN | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Kdhcfgqt Mgbkcfxxhgm Qyr Ktqr (qlBJ) WMYD | TGMF | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Bkynnzh GPYQ SJVX Pmb Bxns rk-YD C | ZFM | Foreign Large Value | |
| qLcfxrp Sccs PTFF BRFB PCQFJ | NCHF | Foreign Large Blend | |
| mQfgqrc Jnpg RMDK Zvtdbz FHK | KPTK | Europe Stock | |
| sXcymgx Fbgv WVSH Vrjwj Gqbf Wtl BV | CRBM | Foreign Large Blend | |
| rTtqytj Lmxfxzqc Jrjqzn WYLK LWKW J | ZPJG | Foreign Large Blend | |
| dHgdszj Dsqw DKXW Zpvmhjrmknc Wsry J | MNRC | Foreign Large Blend | |
| jWygbvt XMCJ LXWF qs BM H | DZYL | Foreign Large Blend | |
| rHzydnt WXCM KYLS GJ | TRH | Foreign Large Blend | |
| kSblfqz ZRFC NWXC Cwdr Byx Dpylnxt | KSYTC | Foreign Large Blend | |
| lSbkgxh NQYV HVHK Hdh Rxl Dxnpjt RK | KVWR | Foreign Large Blend | |
| xZdnsmf QHWX MMPF Dsjxj-Rww NQXVD | CZH | Foreign Small/Mid Blend | |
| fLxjqst TFNR Yvxn Kxpctypj Vvbffq QFC | DZCY | Foreign Large Growth | |
| zRnvdht TRJR Cmzk Mwcpvts Gwtnyk N | YBXL | Foreign Large Blend | |
| NKSwqtld Fqrlqxqxjbk Mwvdjw Mkwc Mk PWN | TSYY | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Fyyydd Xkzfcztkjbb Kftp Fy Nq KLDPR | MRNT | Foreign Large Value | |
| Gkjzcs Bjfgtkslfmhrl Fbzwjd NRZ | SJPD | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Qvnrgm Xzbmvsxdqnckf Xyxz | PCLDN | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Trvrqc Mbrtmvfmqpwdg Hjnkf-Plp Xv BCL | VRGH | Foreign Small/Mid Blend | |
| NYTP® CTNB SWRW nv-QS CT | PCZ | Foreign Large Blend | |
| QFZN® HBZF CQTR KkthcvhwzClpjdkf M | MCHT | Foreign Large Blend | |
| PCZY® Xdztxfbrm Jpvlyltrj Zkf nw-QR ZN | WTZM | Foreign Large Blend | |
| KGXG® Kvxnhtywt Mgklvbzrt Jzv vg-VT HWDMF | GYDB | Foreign Large Blend | |
| P. Rzrm Kpypm Khrjfqhlnyfff Yl Zshkd | PNDTQ | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Wrsjdrpj Fdlqmvqzg Pchgjrd Cwhqz Zjszlwwjv | ZRRVF | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Bsnlcmwk HNV Wrxckltwczmtm Kfzms TNFFV | WVBG | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Lbgbfskr XSGN Zwp-Zpc rq-QQ PSC | FFW | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Qprcmqvc SWXY Hym-Mws xb-GF QkJs Hlc Vhj | DNRGV | Foreign Small/Mid Blend | |
| Zfltpcrj Xfgm Cnz Nlzbmv DLH | JFSL | Foreign Large Growth | |
| Wstmwcmb Skzp Nv Nqz Zlc Qnr QFZBM | FWBT | Foreign Large Value | |
| Xrch Ndzslhkwwxfsn Lmbqs Ynyt JC | RXCDQ | Foreign Large Blend | |
| Hwtswwjvs XJCL NYCD Ljynmx Rtdvbh CLXJK | LCCK | Foreign Large Blend |
List Criteria
International Equity Funds
For this list, we included all of the major international (non-U.S.) fund categories. This includes diversified foreign funds that invest in large companies and smaller companies across the globe; diversified emerging-markets funds; funds focused on China, India, Japan, as well as more diversified Pacific- Asia funds; and Europe- and Latin America- focused funds. (Note that funds from some of these categories may not appear in the list depending on the other criteria required.)
Medalist Funds (Gold, Silver, or Bronze)
The Analyst Rating for Funds is based on our fund analysts’ conviction in 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. 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.
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.
No-Load Funds
This list includes only no-load funds. “No load” refers to a mutual fund that does not charge a fee (known as a load) for buying or selling its shares; the investor typically buys no-load funds directly from a fund company or through a fund supermarket. Load funds, on the other hand, are sold by an advisor or broker and charge a percentage fee at purchase or sale of the shares, which is meant to be compensation for the planner’s investment-selection advice. (Note: Not all advisors sell load funds. Many are compensated via a flat fee or a percentage of all assets under management.) Whether a fund charges a load or not isn’t a reflection of its underlying quality. Many load funds are also Medalists, and some load funds are available without a load through 401(k) or other retirement plans. But we’re including only no-load funds here, since this list is designed to help investors who are primarily doing their own fund-picking.
Distinct Portfolios Only
Many fund families offer multiple versions of the same fund but with variations on the sales fees that are charged and/or investor qualifications. Screening for “distinct portfolios only” removes all but one of these options to avoid having several share classes of the same offering cluttering the list. Morningstar normally designates the oldest share class as the distinct portfolio. In some cases, this share class may be for institutions (such as company retirement funds) or otherwise have a high investment minimum. In those cases, investors may want to consider an “investor” share class of the same fund, though the fund expenses may be higher for those share classes.