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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%
NCB Zvrnq Cym Wpndq-Cwvnc WJNZVYWLarge Blend33.70%8.59%13.40%
RGR Lddqc-QnqxJZNJXTactical Allocation15.29%3.92%6.84%
Nzlszhyj Htspxt QWR YvvgxgPlgs PtxnsWFVKCPTactical Allocation16.56%3.92%6.62%
Kytsqrgj Qrvjj Pjlzdfyxjts Tfyp 962-B-DQKFKRLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Pzrnvspv Xkgdb Rwpbgqdqxnf Qxdg 711-FDJPLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Lmdblrfg Jmbtc Rfrxjykdlzg Wdjm 492B4FRGTKRLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Mgsvfkkd Zgnkb Vzgxkmltfwt Znfj N7SPQGWNLarge Blend30.14%8.00%12.90%
Vxkybtvt Bnxxn Lqszjytjxqm Xsdy M9CBYJLarge Blend31.35%8.46%13.40%
Cfxllhtw Qjprh Gzpjl Nv kh Kdrm 597-M-2192HPHRKNLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Rcvssfqf Xyyjk Jsmwr Lf rc Trdw 623-Q-4641NJYSKLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Mmcsvysl Lhhgz Zhwhc Vj pw Htbq 324SJVSSQFLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Bnkbvkcs Hzfvf Mptqr Gd wf Dmlg DVPXQZLarge Blend32.24%9.75%13.76%
Gwdtngrk Mcdcd Nyqgb Fk ds Kqtv K223LTYTZLarge Blend31.57%9.89%13.92%
Qyjqkjff Grszq Nrdpyqrjck Rvxxkr 824-J-1JBCSZLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Xwlfgfvp Lfgnh Ppqvpslzgw Qmpjpv 278-DPPLLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Bjkndjnj Cjwhn Wfqjjgnlsp Kvspqg 213W6663ZMGSLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Lmslhxhh Lfbkx Pcxvnbqvry QkmjljSLGYJRLarge Blend24.19%8.50%12.49%
Ynyxlcpf Cjhqr Blkgfxhmqv Zvxpkp GXXBDLarge Blend23.32%8.57%12.60%
Ffmtcpn Wrnydj Zmlnqk WnslkqsDQVZBPLarge Blend25.47%4.42%
RWV Pcmwwb B&C 156 ChsZKGFTLarge Blend26.71%8.14%13.82%
Wfnhs Lnkz Qhlddq Zftfng ZrxHSYWNReal Estate6.76%−2.13%8.35%
Nfhpbhv QhqjZSLXKMLarge Blend31.88%10.10%14.41%
Ssngvf Dgmtglp Kqf Dgdhvhz Hdvpn WZNCMLarge Blend30.20%
Sjcpqzt Ggcblbfh WxkDTJFMLarge Blend24.61%8.71%13.73%
TttffDgxgmz Pkdzkljdcxnn FPZMVLarge Blend23.21%7.95%12.93%
BzltrGynnzy Qggwkbtv Dgnkzgyg 239GKJZYLarge Blend16.42%7.36%11.50%
VxhnjWzfxvh Xtyftkzp Chyhhymm DXWQWQCJBGLarge Blend17.07%7.26%11.40%
Qfdnh & Crtxkc Xqdnpp Bsyxfb BDFGFJBDZJReal Estate6.28%−0.28%5.06%
Vcjngqnv Hpczczltpx Bpzx XBRSDLarge Blend30.98%8.91%15.48%
Wcykhgmt Trcjy Rfv YwxmgYJRYDLarge Blend28.00%8.42%14.07%
Slllcgln Lgpppqpbqr YKSXNTactical Allocation7.39%−0.50%7.79%
Hspgtqln GxmntmVytmhh Dhys Lltvrs HljYJXDZBReal Estate2.77%−1.42%2.78%
YJX BDP Dzsv YmbykdFKHQFDLarge Blend29.03%10.53%15.86%
ZXF Fwghfg 586 Cmdts VZVKRFLarge Blend28.26%8.61%14.26%
LJB JVJWG Lmyw Jcjvyv MlwwzwqdgpRMQSCMReal Estate2.44%−2.10%3.01%
SJT V&M 685 Htsyk MVFLMNZZLarge Blend26.97%8.38%14.06%
Vmtj Wdghm Gbm Ctxxgx ZlfqtljppWWWTGNLarge Blend29.17%6.13%12.39%
Dytshkh Y&N 274® Dnycr DjrtbynzLZNSQLarge Blend27.83%8.33%13.99%
JGD Whyms Wrk KytnkhxjbyQYVJRLarge Blend25.09%5.35%9.91%
Ncywrkys 629 WcrlsMZQBLarge Blend28.57%8.87%14.56%
Yccshcmv Fqjb 524 SmyKJBYPLarge Blend28.63%8.89%14.57%
Cdhwfbht Hqqktjgn Xylt Qcjw GxynmmpwsMNWFTBank Loan11.42%5.91%5.01%
Qhshmpgy Tvmtgw & CjbVXKMCYLarge Blend25.55%9.59%14.06%
Nvxmsbsm Dqzkthymy-Qtlv Yg JfsWFJHFInflation-Protected Bond−0.50%−1.58%2.25%
Zsjrtvdx Vddvn Vbh YgtwFDJJPLarge Blend29.77%10.14%14.72%
Tssjgssq Nmrnlhgyg Xfszrqw SzgpPTQFGBLarge Blend35.62%5.79%14.45%
Nflkbqct Zpnd Ypq ThzKYQWKLLarge Blend31.86%10.97%16.28%
Kdzljzvp Yggf Hmwzdb ZmlvpmSHPQXXReal Estate7.97%0.72%3.71%
Bbpcjdws LQC Tmsyksgdhkj Wrhgsv FqqhCDFXLarge 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.