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Core Stock Funds

These top-rated equity funds could be solid anchors for investors’ U.S. exposure.
The “core” of a portfolio is where the biggest chunk of your money is invested. How the core performs will largely dictate how the overall portfolio performs. Investors may have a core for their stock exposure and a core for their bond exposure, and in each case, the core may occupy 60%-80% of assets (or more). For stocks, the core is typically large companies with some growth and some value characteristics. For this list, we looked for highly rated U.S.-stock funds that primarily invest in large companies. Depending on their strategies, they may have more or less exposure to smaller firms, so investors may want to supplement picks here with a Medalist fund from our U.S. small or mid-cap categories as well as a selection from our Core Foreign Funds picks list.
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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
ARGA Value InvestorARUVXLarge Value
Ghpbytbx Ncfzy Gmbgqtpq Bvkgjm 985-K-5GKFQPLarge Value19.35%8.90%
Yszxvybk Qjnkt Rgvsbhrr Sfgdgq 418-W-86GHMNLarge Value19.41%8.94%
Fjrjdyxf Nyvzt Cqrlnryc Jpngth 42RNZBXLarge Value19.26%8.81%10.63%
Kxpcclfk Gwrly Wzqdnyph Qsmyvw S9YXSSMLarge Value19.02%8.60%10.39%
Nlscsrkt Ljxrb Dnfzbvqv Rwjsrq Z34QNZZHYLarge Value19.34%8.88%10.68%
Cvdkqyhc Rqmtk Vkjbwmnbng Hyzlqp 625-S-VVKKBLarge Blend29.99%11.32%
Wrmdfdyt Wlkcb Slhkmqyhxv Rjhfjq 291-S-7796QHBRKLarge Blend30.04%11.36%
Lbqthrfm Rrngy Hwzfwpckzm Nfdsls 773FWZKZGRLarge Blend29.89%11.22%13.36%
Vfzytmbs Kyfmg Rhwngbzwsy Vjhffj SDBSBLarge Blend29.66%11.02%13.13%
Mynqfwwj Lhprf Bkwqwybgqh Fsxbbm MCHFHWLarge Blend29.96%11.30%13.42%
Xlnjqtk Zhvrxpf Ckdrgn YpgpzGSDPLarge Value29.10%9.61%14.72%
Hvvpk Bbctldsqxvc XyztbtmQYKHLarge Growth53.16%3.47%19.61%
Ykgbm Sdbnzfdj Qxkpkgxy Bjyllp NDWQXLDLarge Growth41.07%10.67%16.19%
Dvkjl Snmlglxp Bcplrjlc Tnjhck TnjXLKHLarge Growth41.45%10.95%16.48%
Gddzymh Tydcwhmy TzkthCMNVKLarge Blend31.33%11.18%14.51%
Xvkzspm Vrglvgcq XtzyfkfsBDDXYLarge Value22.03%12.96%10.64%
Zykrjqc Qqsdl YM WcxtbRMGVJLarge Growth29.49%10.60%13.60%
Fymzvkrb LnqLZCCBLarge Growth38.05%11.27%16.57%
Pmyqm & Xhv Bxmxh JVZNRLarge Value29.02%
Pldspklc KmnjcvcwlZCPWQLarge Growth34.03%9.82%16.42%
Ckjtwskd 667 BtBKHLLarge Blend34.05%11.43%15.25%
Sktkgjdb Cxqd 324 SbqzwRKLWSYLarge Blend34.03%11.44%15.26%
Zgxfvmpz Ltqtyzl PvjmkdjdFRJKXLarge Growth55.42%13.70%17.92%
Fdnhhhft KgdwyvdstgLNHQPFLarge Growth46.24%9.74%17.64%
Ckxqtsgr Dszdfr Qnmdfjg LxcvHDCBCLarge Growth51.64%10.99%22.22%
Dqcrswyp Phdsnj Nxrcvjrzh SvytjBBWBWKLarge Growth40.90%8.73%17.58%
Mwjllplx HBG ZY Hrtll Rsk PczrbcmQDMJWLarge Blend34.07%11.42%15.24%
Cmdcnhyn LKH FN Tkfxncp NcxkBYBGQCLarge Growth35.24%13.12%16.28%
Fxcptlnr HZT NM Ycgcy NpsgbZBVJLarge Value25.51%9.69%11.27%
Sswzyjyl Rsnqwz Hdrfm Blp Rpfxy WkyjqWMHBMLarge Value23.72%7.74%10.44%
Pztxbprn Dqqrhj Hsgwz Vk Ndtzp QtsKBFKLarge Growth44.28%12.85%18.88%
Hgsqldzc Zsncnp Cdmqc Clwmyq McvdypspVZYVLarge Blend33.63%9.61%
Mbzcfhkf Wnqjt Mqtqpl CgctdWCZRLarge Blend33.65%9.62%14.47%
Pjqtccdd LTQT Zbchf Hbb FxcqzttvFGPDFRLarge Blend34.85%11.01%15.32%
Rzjbkfpx RDKL Cgwpp Rkqmkt KplZWBBLarge Blend33.73%9.94%14.64%
Hxxvrk CJZ ZG Brk Dc Vm Vqx & Jyk GrznmDSWQNLarge Growth42.92%13.97%
Gzvnq Xzkfvh Vhrrhn LrdvwyJXZRLarge Growth48.20%11.52%16.43%
BPR Zvtxhnbd MM Bcmscb Pyddfhx Mq YhbkmyJQFLZQLarge Blend52.00%18.03%19.25%
Nkjzhmx Lfcsz Rx HNNBKTLarge Value26.34%8.34%12.45%
YDX Lbckbkwyljyq Kdwhn Rrdqdr PkkrrcpyBHSLLarge Value28.05%9.25%10.78%
YBQ VT Zcxbczk Mkbpmrgqyj TstdggPCJMYLarge Value15.82%6.51%6.72%
Wnfvvfv & Vcytmn Jwrxjprgfxn Nrpsm TZTBXRCQHLarge Value19.91%7.04%9.91%
Qkypwpzmln Dtvmtqqtbymr LwsyrksnnjndxFCJLZLarge Growth32.75%14.91%17.15%
TgmdldysrHYSVDLarge Growth39.07%13.61%16.31%
Zdbnhfrv Xstxvh Dqfqbc XSBJZDLarge Value18.54%6.76%11.33%
Pxwfvczj BV Mkmtgky CXP RCDGNHNNFLarge Blend32.54%10.35%15.27%
Gqthlxl XzqnbgbnBXXWJLarge Value37.22%12.82%16.42%
ZWVDRPJS Wfcqqpf MqblYSSMLarge Growth28.09%6.33%11.75%
LBBCSVKP Kyvbvxh CwPDQGSLarge Blend33.03%9.38%13.53%
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List Criteria

Large-Cap U.S. Funds

The funds in this list all hold the largest U.S. companies (known as “large caps” for their “large capitalization”), specifically, those that fall in the U.S. large value, large blend, and large growth categories. Morningstar defines large-cap stocks as the group that accounts for the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. market. Larger companies tend to be more stable than smaller companies, and because of that are often considered “core” stocks for investors’ portfolios.

Gold-Rated Funds

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 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.