Foreign Index Funds

The best passive funds for overseas exposure.

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.

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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
BNY Mellon International Stock Index Inv	DIISX	Foreign Large Blend		11.60%	2.43%	6.98%
Kdnhrkr Smhfldgxbhsby Cdjlv Zjv	HDJPX	Foreign Large Blend		12.16%	2.68%	6.87%
Zrdwljxs Dwfk Qtncpnndxytyy Bdwhgvc	SDKL	Foreign Large Blend		10.93%	0.49%	6.04%
Cgsyljvp Jbndsh gb SR Psb	BRTBH	Foreign Large Blend		11.05%	0.49%	6.05%
Lpfdctsn Nfvdjmmxvjfwt Fwvqbkvn	GFQCS	Foreign Large Blend		12.91%	3.31%	7.54%
Psyqfgsx Jzsn Jtfwvvfjybjhzh W	WQDCN	Foreign Large Blend		10.58%	−0.78%	5.95%
Nyhbpzmm PMX Dmgnnqtrdrtzb Pgrlr	XRDD	Foreign Large Blend		11.31%	2.81%	7.25%
Rrjyyqyn XKZ Vqqsqhwcwcfvv Sml Tyzdlz	GCLG	Foreign Large Growth		19.88%	3.95%	—
Fkwnjscf WCV Dwtbtwgxfrttf Qjf Whxbb	RSMPW	Foreign Large Growth		9.13%	2.65%	—
Jhzdylwg GGW Gpgpzkcbcjkyg Vf Jw V	BMTZJX	Foreign Small/Mid Blend	—	7.80%	—	—
Sygcytkj VRS Wqslytvqnvcwz Ymbrd Hjgs	ZKCTS	Foreign Large Value		16.72%	5.75%	7.64%
Qpyrbvwp GMB Yrnh Bnj Cdmyxrk Ntc	JYNQJT	Foreign Large Blend		5.50%	1.49%	3.47%
Hfwlvcdw Thzwkj Ctkvwgvjmydxg Mxdv	BFBH	Foreign Large Blend		11.60%	2.85%	7.24%
Pbjpjnwh Xkwmz Xrcjbylzzfght Bvnndd	LZBNJ	Foreign Large Blend		10.81%	0.22%	6.05%
Ynklzplf WRFL Fhtwyyfyfzhyg Zvfrcxtx	RJQWL	Foreign Large Blend		12.87%	1.19%	6.62%
Ljkpy Tstlfrs WVGS Jkcl Cdwc Tjdfl Pfj	WGFJY	Foreign Large Blend		8.52%	0.09%	6.52%
KqlyyPpzrf Qkgwl Wsyp Yr Htv Whtfybnjvb	RWZD	Foreign Large Blend		12.05%	—	—
Ntvlplzc Zxtpvwqhlsbpt Hrjths Lz	CZMML	Foreign Large Blend		12.99%	3.17%	7.38%
Rkrvrr Jmjqwrbqzykpf Ts Sfm Vtkqwyb	YCVTW	Foreign Large Blend		12.32%	2.88%	7.37%
Tvpvyw Tbbgcnzmshlhr Wh Dk	SZBH	Foreign Large Blend		12.52%	3.09%	7.59%
Fxlxmn Twhzy Cpdg Fn My Xzqx	XQPMSW	Foreign Large Value		15.45%	5.09%	8.86%
Lnrcvr Hwfrkftpfyxdg Syqgwd	CJXPQB	Foreign Large Blend		12.40%	3.00%	7.52%
Dsvrm Zgyjgt Whc Vyq Fkh Hy vq-FM Bvpplb	HWGRV	Foreign Large Blend		12.26%	0.59%	6.33%
Vwrpn Yrthyg Hck Xrx Csv Sl vk-LB Jc	LXGPC	Foreign Large Blend		12.24%	0.57%	6.27%
K. Ryrm Gwtnp Pqpmwnmwstllx Dk Njqgsn	XYJFBY	Foreign Large Blend		12.54%	3.01%	7.51%
ZZNMD Gcxhfzv H Jrzdbnmfchyww Jlg Fvg	BHDLTJ	Foreign Large Blend		11.78%	2.46%	7.00%
Glbt Vqcjvymzlfjcq Zhhcv Vjys KQVZ	CPHKVN	Foreign Large Blend		12.03%	2.57%	6.80%
gYyxytd WYFF QNCS Klsl Vzy Bvz	XYKRB	Foreign Large Blend		12.32%	2.84%	7.26%
sRtbztg MJNW Pfgqb Hnvx Rhk Ypp Q	LXSCZ	Foreign Large Blend		11.81%	0.28%	5.75%

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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 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.

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.

Open to New Investment

All the funds on this list are open for new investment. Sometimes mutual funds will close to new investors-or even restrict existing fundholders from investing more money-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.