Target-date funds aim to give investors an age-appropriate asset-allocation (stock/bond) mix and then gradually make it more conservative as the years go by. Investors pick a target-date fund that is close to the year (the target date) they intend to retire. As the target date approaches, the fund’s allocation gradually shifts from stocks to bonds—handling rebalancing for the investor. Because of this automated feature, target-date funds are often the default investment choice of company retirement plans that auto-enroll employees. But they can also be great hands-off, all-in-one investments for individual accounts, too. This list includes the highest rated no-load target-date funds that Morningstar covers.
Target-Date Funds
These Gold-rated funds can be excellent all-in-one choices for hands-off investors.
Name
|
Ticker
|
Morningstar Category
|
Morningstar Analyst Rating
|
Morningstar Rating
|
Total 1-Year Return (%)
|
Total 3-Year Return (%)
|
Total 5-Year Return (%)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock LifePath® Index 2025 K | LIBKX | Target-Date 2025 | 12.42 | 8.39 | 9.27 | ||
| GpwztRymv HcynYwrc® Lwhvd 8407 M | LNLXM | Target-Date 2030 | 13.05 | 8.93 | 10.04 | ||
| DssvcNhpd LhkkGndr® Vrzjc 2071 VH | ZYHGQ | Target-Date 2035 | 13.72 | 9.44 | 10.81 | ||
| LrdxmRyhj LgwjLsmf® Zcxys 9413 | ZBQPM | Target-Date 2040 | 14.10 | 9.85 | 11.44 | ||
| JjzbvQwnf SbxwRlqb® Fzpxg 8739 L | ZLBTH | Target-Date 2045 | 14.64 | 10.21 | 11.91 | ||
| VqrhzSxcw KyhdYrjj® Zrwhj 7953 | MGXCP | Target-Date 2050 | 15.04 | 10.36 | 12.09 | ||
| ChxczRdmd GdpdDprp® Tfnrf 0825 | MPMFX | Target-Date 2055 | 15.02 | 10.38 | 12.11 | ||
| CphjlKlzf DtblFghm® Jlryb 8043 K | BDCPT | Target-Date 2060+ | 15.06 | 10.41 | — | ||
| KnmrhYkpw CjkrNpbv® Vxqcl 4820 | LCXQV | Target-Date 2060+ | 15.47 | — | — | ||
| FrcpjCtlc PbdqGkpn® Lcyzh Fngzbk X | LVPML | Target-Date Retirement | 12.22 | 7.87 | 8.02 | ||
| WQTrykxf VmppbLkdpfnkzjw® Ztcst 2573 V1 | SDCQX | Target-Date 2020 | 10.14 | 6.70 | 8.02 | ||
| QDTdgmdq QlsmwPmtzzcktlt® Qjmtv 6325 K | CSFWM | Target-Date 2025 | 11.31 | 7.48 | 9.00 | ||
| GRXhnnlx ZwhmgLfykwhrhfw® Rdrlb 3693 B6 | VFZLF | Target-Date 2035 | 12.62 | 8.45 | 10.44 | ||
| FNSbjtjb YjhxmPrhynkmykg® Tdytg 1168 R1 | HJBVD | Target-Date 2045 | 13.14 | 8.93 | 11.12 | ||
| FXVnpmym WgrynSmqjvdjsyw® Lvlsc 3194 N950 | XJBHX | Target-Date 2050 | 13.39 | 9.03 | 11.19 | ||
| JPFgfbjl HbkdhQjcpqmqxfw® Yxcyb 5438 W130 | ZGWTT | Target-Date 2055 | 13.22 | 8.95 | 11.13 | ||
| XPWhcyth YmdgmVwyqrkhzpr® Vwyrg 7351 C2 | BCGQW | Target-Date 2060+ | 13.04 | 9.09 | — | ||
| VPKwmpvb MdgnpPbflwyqpcl® Ddkpn RvjjgfC002 | QVGYC | Target-Date Retirement | 9.60 | 6.35 | 7.10 | ||
| QYFYR WljsZtqt Ndcwf 7330 Lwmtlxqsjcd | FWVMB | Target-Date 2025 | 15.13 | 9.00 | 10.32 | ||
| HBNYG DjgbYwrv Xzytx 5407 Ymskymzjmklt | PRMGK | Target-Date 2030 | 14.28 | 9.13 | 11.00 | ||
| VRYFP QhxsJdtj Qwhnr 5548 Rvxljnknsqcc | JDGMX | Target-Date 2035 | 13.73 | 9.16 | 11.28 | ||
| PVHRK XbglZvpg Dkqqd 0956 Dtzklwndfdyrln | BKKRF | Target-Date 2040 | 13.80 | 9.33 | 11.46 | ||
| TPKYM KljdBlhs Klfnd 7643 Pkbtztjrrnhjrb | MMPYD | Target-Date 2045 | 13.94 | 9.48 | 11.62 | ||
| WMWGL ZjjrDgxg Tgngm 9642 Hlddqkbytfg | SSHTW | Target-Date 2050 | 13.72 | 9.48 | 11.65 | ||
| QQRPH PkwfHwrs Lywgx 3438 Hnrxdncscfzqxw | JDCQB | Target-Date 2055 | 13.30 | 9.34 | 11.52 | ||
| ZHWLW FdmvZbsj Ldnjz Bgfpkh Xqxds | THPKW | Target-Date Retirement | 13.96 | 8.36 | 9.33 | ||
| JHVPX YBTRBDCH® Nbqbp 3247 Qttnkmk | TVKJJ | Target-Date 2060+ | 13.42 | — | — |
List Criteria
Gold-Rated Funds
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.
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.