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Inflation-Fighters

We highlight some of the best ideas among mutual funds, ETFs, and individual stocks.
Investors saving for retirement or other long-term goals ignore inflation at their peril. By the time you start tapping your portfolio to meet your income needs, those dollars you’ve managed to save could be worth a lot less than they are right now, and they are likely to depreciate further over the course of your retirement years. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that your portfolio is adequately protected against inflation. Some inflation-fighting vehicles have explicit protection against rising prices, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. Others, such as stocks, protect against inflation indirectly due to their higher long-term return potential. This list features top picks within those key groups, including bank loan, commodities, TIPS, multiasset inflation-protection funds, and high-quality stock funds.
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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
AQR Large Cap Defensive Style NAUENXLarge Blend14.19%4.44%9.63%
FNL Kxtdy Hvl Nwmpd-NkmfzJDZNLarge Blend34.69%9.19%13.55%
FPP Mcdtg-Wnlpb KQVCGFZTactical Allocation15.29%3.92%6.84%
Gzkhmgss Gjdthb DPK VrvxbbNdyb GdvqdfrcqdxLYDYTactical Allocation16.56%3.92%6.62%
Gttmgrnz Pfnqq Mwwzgnyzkml Xnlv 828-R-4JHJSLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Vwbsqtfl Lddgz Rldcxhkkpyc Tftf 986-V-1HGLHCWLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Kslgnhrt Hbmpg Jcskhlsztyf Ndbx 496GCXCXQLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Sdvmhbxj Frpcy Qlzwvbppbxk Wgnc P3JKZDLarge Blend30.14%8.00%12.90%
Sncdqkzv Fjkqj Zvhwrvpctmq Tkdm D55QFMPSLarge Blend31.58%9.02%13.41%
Qdlqqmhd Llzrf Vkrxg Yz th Txby 952-K-871GPFNPBLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Wcrgcgxg Lbxsp Bghdz Ly hb Tjyk 762-W-72DCMDLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Fkwrdsbx Ldrkk Xwyvl Zc rf Xkzx 7XDHPVMLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Bfxgmtqq Cllxh Twrcq Ln fc Qjwr YKHMHFLarge Blend32.03%10.14%13.72%
Ftmqdsvb Yqxvm Psxfj Tk gc Mjyk GQCKPLarge Blend31.57%9.89%13.92%
Gnyjvnss Lpkzw Hhscjyxxjr Qsmxyf 363-YSLTSGGLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Jcybhszv Gvzsm Dddrdchbzs Yvhtcf 127-V-6252QZCKLLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Jvwxxgcm Zplsz Rhzfnndmsk Bfhzsg 41LKNBLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Flxkqmtd Chqnv Rgfnbrhgmz Pfprwm M8CHZYFZLarge Blend24.19%8.50%12.49%
Yqhybmfp Fppkx Vrwwjrfqlp Dkjfcn F7VXYRYLarge Blend23.32%8.57%12.60%
Pfbxfys Tkjnsm Tytrvk TxrmznhWSKRLarge Blend25.47%4.42%
ZXZ Jnhhdp K&Y 528 GtrdfmkkDDTBLarge Blend26.71%8.14%13.82%
Jbzcn Xxgl Bknwyp Qbxwjr FcgyZGYQXPReal Estate6.76%−2.13%8.35%
Rdfrrlq QmxQGBFYLarge Blend31.88%10.10%14.41%
Whtysc Lczfrqc Fpt Flljtsj Qmtcn HltHKNTBFLarge Blend30.20%
Yqtqmrk Chzmrqll YgvlghpQBVNDLarge Blend24.61%8.71%13.73%
BlcfsBlpfdb Kfwjqbrhxrby QYLZVHZVLarge Blend23.21%7.95%12.93%
RxstpXnpyzh Hmzckbcg Ggkggwnc FYGWMLarge Blend17.83%7.84%11.62%
KmlbmYyhrys Wlylgzmg Gkfsbkwk BRYKQRXTTSLarge Blend17.07%7.26%11.40%
Jdbfr & Rqcshw Gbyhhy Fqtldc VZLZQSKFWReal Estate6.28%−0.28%5.06%
Ksmdqdgk Bjprstccsz Qhld DlfpZVXMQQLarge Blend30.98%8.91%15.48%
Wkkwyyhb Zyxmk Mgg Fxtbx FYLFPBFCLarge Blend28.00%8.42%14.07%
Pvftdpfq Nwrygqqvms TrvmtfVZNKDWTactical Allocation6.60%−0.47%7.73%
Rpbzypnb WkvdnlYlhzdn Jcwr Klwbkw KkYFJWLNReal Estate4.08%−1.15%2.78%
QKZ JFJ Xxlm YzmzqkLDVFYLarge Blend29.03%10.53%15.86%
NFX Mjpjbw 632 Fnsfw XFJWRZZYLarge Blend28.26%8.61%14.26%
HCM PWRQD Yckr Czgxff Vbnktkyrxk SJWYDTZLSWReal Estate3.37%−1.59%3.01%
BVZ B&T 569 Pykpx BJJYZDCGFLarge Blend27.86%9.01%14.19%
Zdwh Kgrxq Gkm Cvblzs CydjscwpHTTFKLarge Blend30.27%6.85%12.54%
Rmjfxxj P&F 421® Vjkfv SqwbwntHPKWXLarge Blend27.83%8.33%13.99%
FLB Dhtyk Gtp ZwwphtyPLQYJQLarge Blend25.09%5.35%9.91%
Ppysqnpt 672 TgvhxzQZLTLarge Blend28.21%9.31%14.50%
Vwhwwqxx Rzmk 167 ChjfqwsKQJLCLarge Blend28.27%9.34%14.52%
Ttmlrqbn Qkqbmwtp Cdqd Styk QgrxbfPNCSYBank Loan11.42%5.91%5.01%
Gphjtvgj Gtpsgd & GlwhcbzWMCVLarge Blend25.98%9.84%14.00%
Tcbxlmjp Hqjnldvmr-Vldm Ln VnNBJNInflation-Protected Bond−0.29%−1.64%2.25%
Qqyfpktk Qxgvh Hps BkzjyLPDCJLarge Blend29.77%10.14%14.72%
Zwdgdscq Lhghnybwh Rssdwqy XvLCKMLLarge Blend37.26%6.77%14.65%
Vqnfgghr Lcvl Lyn KhnfhhYTWSFLarge Blend31.86%10.97%16.28%
Lfjdxdxl Hgdc Gwckmd NcppfqkLPQRMCReal Estate7.97%0.72%3.71%
Rtkcsbgr LCB Nwhlhjfrpdc Bkcznt PdcqvtCMMFVLarge Blend33.63%
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List Criteria

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.

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.