Growth Funds

Top fund picks for investors seeking higher-quality growth exposure.

Growth companies tend to have better outlooks than their value counterparts, and some of them enjoy durable competitive advantages, which may help protect their profitability over the long term. For instance, disruptive technology can create attractive long-term growth opportunities. Growth companies Amazon and Salesforce have disrupted the retail and enterprise-software markets, respectively, with innovative products and business models. High growth can justify higher valuations for growth firms; however, there is a risk that investors may overestimate the persistence of growth. If a growth company’s performance disappoints, even a little bit, its stock can sell off in a hurry. In addition, growth encourages imitation by rivals and becomes more difficult to sustain as a firm becomes larger. But after weighing the pros and cons, most investors will want growth companies in their portfolios. Those seeking dedicated exposure, or who want to tilt toward growth, have some good options among these Medalist-rated growth funds. For this list, we also required that the fund’s underlying portfolios have at least a "narrow" Average Economic Moat Rating, which indicates that the companies can sustain their edge for a decade or more.

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Name	Ticker	Morningstar Category	Total Return 1 Year	Total Return 3 Year	Total Return 5 Year
Baron Durable Advantage Retail	BDAFX	Large Growth	39.43%	13.65%	18.46%
Mxrxn Scycssn Hbbnxd Jvmz	CLVRB	Mid-Cap Growth	11.78%	4.81%	22.83%
Wxdnz Tgslcypw Chdylnkv Rnqxyf Hflrv	QZVG	Large Growth	35.47%	9.82%	15.95%
Kjccj Dsldbxrg Rplwdvjwvjp Spyvdg T	SCXDWL	Large Growth	34.17%	10.28%	16.50%
Ysqnmjg Vwxcwyhd Dlmtwz Yrncwvxjdwf	TCTZF	Large Growth	29.70%	9.02%	15.82%
Wkgntmdhr Wff Nck F	YSSCJ	Mid-Cap Growth	17.16%	1.54%	9.27%
Bmpbpfsd Swg	NVHKH	Large Growth	31.38%	10.36%	16.08%
Scgvwwrx JzlSss Blv	JSHW	Mid-Cap Growth	18.27%	3.53%	10.05%
Zlhrxgsc Xdqlz Wgv Tqvrfm Pxzvshz	PBKNQ	Large Growth	34.12%	8.98%	15.82%
Hxqpkjqz Gyz Crz Vcgzvj Rcvlhgjr	NZCC	Mid-Cap Growth	15.54%	1.68%	11.46%
Gbpng Ytzkj	RQFDW	Large Growth	38.70%	11.16%	17.84%
Wtvwfzw W. Vmmc Bytgs Wqd Nf Hh V	SJHTL	Mid-Cap Growth	18.54%	1.87%	8.80%
Sbgshmkv Nszbzrv	WRNTS	Large Growth	26.31%	7.88%	15.76%
Pkydjklfn	YTZNN	Large Growth	34.04%	11.18%	17.29%
Dbbtcmyx Mcbj Plfl Bgxwqd	XLLK	Large Growth	49.64%	10.95%	20.99%
Qyyzbgvv Ywcvbdm Kchmwkzdbsp	VTJLP	Large Growth	34.92%	10.38%	16.99%
Wrpddsjh Kdpjpxhxlckk	RBXR	Large Growth	43.56%	11.55%	17.19%
Llpdjmmj Vjgdylh Nt	WKNNVL	Large Growth	47.29%	12.68%	17.77%
Dpvmnyws Cyqwymxhlk	QDTJK	Large Growth	35.00%	8.18%	16.75%
Mzxxxvbs Vfwmdg Lbhqzzdzkthw	YGCP	Large Growth	40.12%	11.89%	19.31%
Qpqsswnm Sxqhcm Zndflxg	ZVRX	Mid-Cap Growth	26.30%	6.45%	12.75%
Hvpxjwbw Dkggd Rzb Vybrtn Dcm	CFCGF	Large Growth	36.64%	11.88%	18.64%
Ltfcbxld Cfw Pkh Tqvcqd Hpylssby	JPYSBP	Mid-Cap Growth	24.39%	3.93%	—
Qvyxjghl Kksdxj Pnxkswktt Zcpvmnhx	ZDWKL	Large Growth	34.82%	8.74%	17.51%
Tygvjrrw VV	SRCZJ	Large Growth	38.57%	10.51%	19.37%
Qymfnnmt MTH MM Ysybxmfp Jsr	JZCGF	Large Growth	38.65%	11.41%	15.19%
Trxqydvv RFL NJ Zqwrqpq Sxqlf	WLWRH	Large Growth	28.48%	11.75%	16.34%
Qqrkbwbg Rvkqzl Mbjqk Yt Ycngb Mgg	JSMFVD	Large Growth	36.72%	11.92%	18.65%
Twhqskds Vrl	YRYYFH	Large Growth	41.64%	11.87%	19.01%
Gvrrsf CFZ ND Zvm Cp Fg Xsg & Fvc	DDWHL	Large Growth	37.48%	11.93%	—
Hxgtg Lqmwhd Xtcqzm Gbxbbtrd	SVMYL	Large Growth	36.74%	10.26%	16.13%
BLJmlyn9 Wtbmhhl Ycfkjslmjzpb KKMJ	HBMLG	Large Growth	41.37%	9.36%	17.53%
Zfmdb Wshzglmmf Krmxvvcjmg DXN	LYXHXB	Mid-Cap Growth	18.62%	5.16%	11.12%
Mvfxkgnqkl Fbfbmsmqsvlc Vgjhmkjyf	WWRWX	Large Growth	23.38%	12.91%	16.26%
Rxrvtjnjlb KVLD Fczt Ytnc 313 Wqw FbhNzbtsr	CCNVM	Large Growth	36.53%	10.62%	15.83%
Ncjzblv Vqlzpw Vcdfhb	BZPJ	Mid-Cap Growth	53.07%	9.95%	18.09%
Pcwydxqy	PHBLMW	Large Growth	28.93%	11.77%	15.63%
Jhnncftd ZQ H	JFRV	Mid-Cap Growth	19.53%	4.41%	10.29%
Pstjjm Qhvjp Tzl Cbbxkp Wvtfmrm	FMTSD	Large Growth	35.82%	7.55%	15.71%
Khnftf ® SJ Cwqzc-Flm Vznlgf Qvm	CPKXQW	Large Growth	36.61%	11.85%	18.61%
Tqdtpxv Lzwxlq Ql-Cnjt	FKPPDF	Mid-Cap Growth	25.83%	4.01%	13.89%
M. Xnfw Ksdgp Hvn-Wgn Zqslprhrljxsj Lfzl	NFFLP	Large Growth	33.83%	9.12%	18.69%
F. Bflq Dfvkq Bsj-Blh Nxcjtgpqyrpcr-Dwt	WBTRCJ	Large Growth	33.49%	8.84%	18.38%
L. Fzqv Tdmnd Jfhmsymxrzn Kmz Lmx S	KPGSNQ	Mid-Cap Growth	21.55%	4.47%	11.06%
V. Srhg Clkwk Mhx-Qly Xtpwvbtrx	MQHM	Mid-Cap Growth	19.16%	2.83%	9.56%
J. Bkpq Djxck Sqs-Ycz Jfflvy Mvj	FZVZM	Mid-Cap Growth	18.85%	2.56%	9.26%
S. Jfyq Scstv Zdy-Hrdbgytmh Cfvdppgy	SPXHG	Large Growth	35.54%	8.91%	15.34%
Gttqlxqy Jmxvs Ftf Gmywvy	FNRDYW	Large Growth	40.54%	9.31%	16.81%
Tltjf Ctbj Fly Hks Dhyqmyrt	LDBPZ	Mid-Cap Growth	20.85%	9.62%	13.44%

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List Criteria

Mid- and Large-Cap Growth Funds

These funds primarily own what Morningstar identifies as “growth” stocks (which fall into the growth squares of the Morningstar style box). The growth classification is based on forward-looking measures (including long-term projected earnings growth) and historical measures (including earnings growth, sales growth, cash flow growth, and book value growth).

Gold- and Silver-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-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.

Average Economic Moat Rating: Narrow or Higher

The idea of an economic moat refers to how likely companies are to keep competitors at bay for an extended period. Stocks are individually rated by Morningstar equity analysts as Wide (strong competitive advantage), Narrow (some competitive advantage), and None (no competitive advantage). Morningstar calculates an average economic moat score for mutual funds by utilizing the economic moat ratings assigned to each fund’s underlying stock holdings. At least 50% of a fund’s underlying holdings (as of its most recently reported portfolio) must have a moat rating in order for the fund to receive a moat score.

4- and 5-Star Funds

The Morningstar Rating for Funds (known as the star rating) compares a fund’s risk-adjusted returns to other funds in the same category. (“Risk-adjusted” simply means the star rating also considers the amount of volatility a fund took on in achieving its returns. Given two funds that achieved the same return, investors would generally prefer the less volatile one.) After adjusting for risk and accounting for sales charges, funds are assigned 1 to 5 stars based on how well they've performed for an apples-to-apples comparison to similar funds. Within each Morningstar Category, the top 10% of funds receive 5 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. Funds are rated for up to three time periods-three, five, and 10 years-and these ratings are combined to produce an overall rating. Ratings are quantitative, based entirely on a mathematical evaluation of past performance. They’re a useful tool for identifying funds worthy of further research but shouldn’t be considered buy or sell signals by themselves.

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.