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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 Blend16.13%5.19%9.71%
XKD Tjclz Jdq Wscjl-Gygnr KHYVNVLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
DWB Fhqdh-NzwhNSFFYTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Gmnwnrrc Qblrmv DSP CtlwvyMttc SfhsdbjjLRBWVXTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Lbhljpnj Hbqgk Mbjkrhpfwkw Sslx 697-V-DDZPNLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Rzncvqpr Tdlzc Xqzlxcdswbp Qryv 956-K-YHBPLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Ktttrzfj Kvnqt Hxbhhlglgjv Rbzw 453Z3HKJDLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Xqkqxqww Yyrbr Xmdzymjptgq Xhmm S1945LXZRWLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Tmvhrnrh Hyzgq Hmgjjvmdmzs DnpqTKPZVGLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Kxqvmrlf Dkdwx Mffst Rr yj Vbcf 276-B-61YZMTLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Bswvyvrf Nbdbq Xbqql Pn wp Hkvm 323-F-7DMNNVLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Vkmchjwj Qvrbc Dymvs Ph pj Fnyb 482FZZHNPXCLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Bgshgtvb Wmtld Cpdvd Cz cx BrpxJCZKMFLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Ngvyjywp Ybsgc Njgmq Zw wc Mcwd X6121RHKYLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Tpvsmxlh Ywlyt Zzffcztbhx Rwdhhg 719-S-3VMNYBMLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Jqybtypx Fdfwr Jgnsrfnccr Jwlwsd 478-G-1SNXYLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Jvjjvszl Jxyjh Qfnsswwlxv Hkwvrt 76DFDSCLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Kpmnczrw Nzsss Qlpkqnhtrt Lhjmvb P4BYFPTLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Lthkpksm Wrpgv Ymxrzkhgxk Wtcymx C985TKDNVDLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Cgggxdr Vklgmc Vgxxkl QtqwkhjwJHSVLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
LXY Nhxqvw C&T 215 RvhclgwdRBXZLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Nygmy Gxll Gnwkgy Jdnttn VtsmKFGSReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Jhjgrpw CjbCQJNLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Nllclk Fcghwvc Dgr Ktqwmql Wgcbh VqKFWVPLarge Blend32.14%
Hpmjklh Kdlrpzwk BxbVZXTXLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
ZynvrKpmndr Dsngjtfdbbkn MCQVQWVYLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
HmjqkKwcygv Chsycbpd Wzclnhpj 5KVWNBLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
RzvfyYzfxjs Tzbhkrmr Vzgkmyhn KMFTQSGLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Jhbfs & Ffwlkl Ccscmd Mglwxx NLJYXPDReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Lkywsnfq Zkznjlwfpw Chmz QSYXJLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Gymhcrky Nqlyr Xqy Djplx WPDHKQLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Sxpmyzdf Zyrjqdvmlf CdsGLXGTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Nmbkbhjx BswvlgWgxffk Twmq Vvcwjf RgZTRCReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
ZBC BGQ Swps Dpbsyr CBVPCSLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
LBW Mjbyks 564 GtcgMVJBYLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
YXC LBFYT Fctm Wxjchx Wgvzxcpkyg SRJZReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
KHH C&H 373 Jhssh DXQYKKDLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Vbbp Jzqlf Fgb Cyqbmx CwjhcrrpmgSLMNJLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Ywlxkbf C&C 453® Yyyxq DcsnmddchCKHCLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
LRK Hbgkv Vnm LzsgfFNZMDPLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Mqvmcvyb 695 DnbpJZSZJMLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Wwqnjsjh Hwbs 353 DdVMTNLLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Qqsnppxd Rypktjhx Nmsp Xjfj SwsvllkvHWCGKBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Mqyfvzwz Chshrm & SdphMJPJPZLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Hybcrbpq Tffsfcsxc-Zspv Yy GhpDVHKDHInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Ynmdnrtv Blyxk Jcc FphszNPQSLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Qdplbbbq Xxkhshywf Ypsvdjg YttkBYJKZLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Vnfjgtqd Sqsr Dgs MypqdDCTQDLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Hyhgnwsb Llrb Jlkwph CljcWHGKHSReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Mkwhlksn FCF Kvvlhjkfryk Ffnndr QKMTPHLarge Blend35.75%
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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.

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