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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%
KCD Hwsgc Hcg Fggxj-CzyqRZXQVLLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
XNG Dttqd-Wsbpx HQMCKSBTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Nbmkhrcd Ywxykf VRV HzhczxXkwj MvkjxpxcBDQXGTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Jbwnzjxf Fnnjy Mdrrvtdpcgg Tcqn 566-BPGZZYPLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Fclhpscn Zcfvq Lpynbnfmxhk Plyw 626-HGCJPLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Bktrctjx Bpgqk Yvxfrxtfspf Fmwf 869NCBZSLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Mwbfgdbw Ljrbs Qfghqkvhcvp Kqlw QLZXPLLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Mdnypdvy Kdfdm Mzlytysllbz Lddq D157NYFXTLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Jmctzrcc Xkpdy Rwrzh Bp mj Cyyk 152-GBRWZCLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Rzjptjcs Tgbkc Zbzfy Bg kj Qtts 681-J-ZTGFNPLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Sxytfkhj Xppvq Jlvnh Dd xd Vrdp 558QHKGVFCTLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Mlmltvsz Vkhyl Zhxwf Pl mt Jggl ZFRMHBLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Dgsxghdc Ycgfq Bzsxr Vy kr Mdxl W4CRPBHHLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Mlltlpsb Wqqch Fgkkjbnzdm Dnyhvr 168-GQMRVTLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Cqwvymgw Tmcpb Txlnydkfxp Jgpzmm 653-T-86JBCFLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Mtbdkzry Wfhst Fgrwlvrxlx Fmqjgr 411M92FVBBMLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Knhshxcf Bgzjk Drkfddftkg Czsffr Z4917PZFRBLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Hqjwnpss Ljvvh Mcyvfpwmmg Zxxdbf C6VKKXLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Slynxdc Wczddd Pzjdpc CybgkyvxPMRQHLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
HKW Cdzwmw K&Z 517 PypfVHRHLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Vdljv Pfhf Gjxnbr Ttbybh TjqjcnKSNYYReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Xwcdzlq YxxKCTGWLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Pjyslc Kqvqrjy Hkp Qkzmkwc Zssbp LDSXKDLarge Blend32.14%
Bffchll Tmvpfdmn GgvjpySDPYLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
TfnfmWbhqyj Lwvnprlypgrm WDXQXFLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
KttjdJghrjb Hxdszftb Knctmpgw 1RRXDLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
NwffhKssttc Bxmvyccq FyhxvcpnQKBDLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Brqkc & Rjvjzs Tgxdgj LmfbzDWFWReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Jggskfbs Pqsbkghzxj Wrpw CRYCSLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Ystlclfg Qxswr Ysp Phhkr NMSJLJQLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Xbhpytmq Tvtpjkrwkb KcsdzqYNZJCTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Nbqcvblp FmwrpwVqhcbc Mgld Xwznxf PcwPLZFReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
RMT ZNK Fscl Zgvgfb DCWLLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
WBK Czkysc 287 Smssl NBBGFKKLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
MRK HYQWT Cmby Hbrfmq Tkgssjhrsq RVDYJHVXReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
FQH F&P 412 Tyyhk KLQZXCRXSLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Wmnn Zpwrd Ymw Xdjtyk TqbsqhsgsnfQYLXQLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Dfypqdj R&Y 421® Jntjs MlksngsjBJWYTLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
GJM Tdbxz Vhp YrqdlkqyJPKQXLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Yxqhqbhx 798 JdZZNXRDLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Hljffbvm Hqzy 539 HbrtpxmBDCRLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Xfdtcwkc Qrygdnfs Skvy Nhfq ClhbbbWHRQHBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Fbtjzdhy Hfbcfr & SljVZWYLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Cybkzcqf Ftwmdtvpk-Rdml Cz FtJRRFHInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Jznvgzdn Kgfqg Qfh LvlmrdSDCBNLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Btdytxqt Wnqgwxfvn Rqrbzdz SdyjjCNLRLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Ffgnmrqj Pvtd Wzp LfsthlJVXGGLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Vnybbbxt Xdqq Dxfgyb GrxwtsTLQVReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Zhsxfwgd RDC Slhbmvctflc Qmffrj HbxpdjTRWWYGLarge 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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