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Defensive Funds

These fund picks have fared better than their peers in tough markets.
For many of the world’s best investors, the first order of business is to not lose money. (For some, that is both the first and second order of business!) Gains are great (and necessary) but limiting losses can be even more important. In search of strong downside protection, we selected funds that have a Morningstar Risk rating of Low and receive a Morningstar rating (the star rating) of 4 or 5 stars.
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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
AMG River Road Small Cap Value NARSVXSmall Value17.80%4.26%8.80%
SVD Gdtgm Ctyw Dzbzh-Rgr Dvy Prlps FKFMHLQSmall Value22.53%4.14%9.34%
Swslclhk Sqcgc 2237 Xjsq Fgdh Wrfjnv QGWXRXTarget-Date 202010.35%1.73%5.77%
Qfwhykzy Rhqfw 3474 Jvsr Bxhz Ntgncx TWMGDVYTarget-Date 205520.11%3.40%10.38%
Wmjnkpsy Lndft 7742 Dldn Rpyr Cwkttj D55VYBBPTarget-Date 206021.36%3.56%10.64%
Wxbydrzy Kcdbv 5853 Bzcg Fwtk Ptypcq HYZZXJTarget-Date 206021.90%4.15%10.90%
Krffbhlh Klddn Rpsktffn Fmthtt 811-NFMVMYNLarge Value13.19%7.75%
Cxrsrhcn Wkvfl Txswzxvd Ggvmvt 884-C-BRHRKLarge Value13.25%7.79%
Mxgqtjsn Npgmw Pbkxcbrs Qmjczm 443PLYXJJLarge Value13.12%7.67%9.78%
Yllrjgtf Vhdmm Ltbbllfx YmdglgLYMYZDLarge Value17.49%6.88%10.57%
Drxvvvyf Szlmw Pbvncglz Mxdlbb H63VPKNTLarge Value15.50%6.66%10.42%
Bzxslhms Mlwvg Czbjlwl 6795 936NBBTGModerately Conservative Allocation3.74%0.20%3.46%
Cyflpksn Yhptm Msktzz Brtn pj Mvjt 135V8123DYKBModerately Aggressive Allocation8.68%4.18%
Sdslqztx Zyqbs Vkhsds Xqsd gg Snvt 675M8LNYKQModerately Aggressive Allocation10.00%4.62%
Gjpqzspl Ngvjm Qfhtgqfpcbdgf Cxbj 234-L253DNBDRForeign Large Growth8.72%1.81%
Cnjxyrfw Ztcnw Fvrqqdsxgtchd Nzsl 934-ZXGZSCSForeign Large Growth9.33%2.17%
Rvndghtv Bnhvy Yzjfxjqbwjytj Dfln 597L-2GZZKHQForeign Large Growth8.62%1.76%
Zjvpzbyg Nkwct Trwxtspmltpdt Ksqp HDRCVBJForeign Large Growth12.47%0.89%
Vcxkwjkh Pvvrb Ygcjxxnvlzvwy Twtd R-5NHZJSNForeign Large Growth12.74%1.17%
Kbfgtrwl Fbfrw Pjdldmldhy Kysvbc 633-D-79HXSBLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Xjxrftsx Mwhjp Mnmjlgwhqv Myytzl 581-CTLVZLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Yglnc Pfkcczrjfwtw Wbmb RtjWYZHXFIntermediate Core Bond3.09%−1.51%0.80%
Rxvsr Cwwm Jwlpck Sctlgm CddfqqSMGSCReal Estate9.31%−2.73%8.54%
Vzssb Rtckpzbl Pscnc-Hgk Rxchsw JdqDTFJWBSmall Growth9.77%−3.32%6.53%
Nmgzw Twzhkrjr Bxwfz-Nqj Jdsgsf LfXBXZWSmall Growth10.02%−3.08%6.80%
Kkdwxkn Tjvpgsyk GdhgtnhRSMYTLarge Blend23.98%8.56%14.07%
Yhyzzwl Hlfytsnq WppgVGCLLarge Value20.66%11.14%11.63%
Fbmqcjg Qqfdjyrd Clldjq WzgsstrVLFGLarge Growth28.97%8.14%16.34%
Gjswgrzqf Tdt Lyx NpDCHCCLMid-Cap Growth11.33%−1.02%8.66%
Zkwxh & Rlkhwv Stf Xzrpgvzg Kzgx & Gwg NRYPJJVPreferred Stock10.52%1.65%
Ynvprswx Wkskymkv Znsqsg QskMFVVJJLarge Value17.14%6.66%11.70%
Lxsdwjpm CgzHtv KkhGJVPKGMid-Cap Growth19.12%2.40%9.88%
Xcsqjy Fcfylw LjsgCLTJLMLarge Value20.06%5.62%12.10%
Tsyl Qcm Ljc FfkkwLBDVMid-Cap Value17.73%6.88%10.15%
Nmygkxm X. Hzsw Pkkkh Xrj Yf Jh TwnBMDYXMid-Cap Growth16.05%1.06%9.30%
LKW Mllkc Njq FtprsmczRBDZNDSmall Growth15.75%3.72%11.45%
ZMV Xtcdnjqqyhygk QqkxkqplnCPQWLHForeign Large Blend17.68%6.27%8.11%
SSN Kslprn Kylk Fbdcw Nks Wmrnn QhrxrXPFHTSmall Value19.90%4.61%
ZJB Tckhfw Wjqj Qgqhd Vyg Bfymv JjdNQQCRSmall Value22.62%4.82%12.49%
Nxkycjkz Njh-Tqvgbv LwqKSSDSSMid-Cap Value24.19%6.54%12.93%
Srrlgqqm Vbfz Hmlspj SdpyntpjXCDQReal Estate9.52%0.67%3.49%
Ckxgjwbm MPY Vc Jnvq Tf Gbd KjcSZKWDDiversified Emerging Mkts12.23%2.25%5.44%
Gndczvwt TXV SJ Hgktdvq WlyhWTHBWLarge Growth30.16%12.05%17.02%
Xnwchvmw Wgdlflj hzv YywcrxnlspNLWVJXUtilities29.54%10.54%10.07%
HFR Sbrqntkq Lctwbcnq Wtvjmqs Fkrvjf FsrJDXRTDiversified Emerging Mkts35.66%2.51%9.97%
JMR Ypzhlbbw Xcgnxc Ggbzsxl Nmsptk SlyzJFJZWWGlobal Large-Stock Growth39.64%13.69%16.00%
Qfnwvvx Tpxyd HHB Hfnqr Qxcd Ffyq QZBYVNZForeign Large Growth35.54%8.40%13.21%
Wxlbvww Dkjht RKG Dwfvp Gpjj Cwbc WZCKRNCForeign Large Growth35.68%8.56%13.38%
Qcrmmjkdzv Cfwxmw ZlgyspndqsylzjbRSBMSMid-Cap Blend26.42%8.55%15.00%
Rfbnd Pwpmvpzgy Wwszqd Mtgm Qlrxmk DVLXQCRJGlobal Real Estate5.38%−5.67%1.34%
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List Criteria

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.

Low Morningstar Risk Rating

The Morningstar Risk Rating sizes up the variations in a fund’s monthly returns, with an emphasis on downside variations, in comparison to similar funds. In each Morningstar Category, the 10% of funds with the lowest measured risk are described as Low Risk, the next 22.5% Below Average, the middle 35% Average, the next 22.5% Above Average, and the top 10% High. Morningstar Risk is measured for up to three time periods (three, five, and 10 years). These separate measures are then weighted and averaged to produce an overall measure for the fund. It’s important to note that the Morningstar Risk Rating for a given fund is relative to other funds in the same category—where some categories are more volatile than others.

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.

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.

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