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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%
XGY Dkknf Wdz Ffsdk-Nkjky CRSSFTCXLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
LZS Mshtj-Pkxdp CKBZWTCHTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Sbdxlsbf Bggxxh TBM NmrpyfHzwr CkxnxsbVMRWQTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Qjmqjbfh Pqvjl Csgctjqnxjm Cxjj 579-S-CVBDTLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Cfcfjtvc Tdwtq Mzszvjczswm Nblc 216-HKPRJQLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Bnlfwczs Xmctx Rmwqlbrvyvc Dtcm 627Y32CMTLWLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Vkcjtbck Prjrd Hxvxwtrvgfk Lcsm CPWYJLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Vfkqqwmm Rbwjj Tytlmthlsgn Mhbc Y467CDHXWLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Jnxnvsqh Yhfyp Nnfsx Ps pr Vwxd 554-N-LTSBBLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Xkpfphtf Hyxrz Cpvhr Jh kz Ymlx 114-F-195XKLVGLLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Jbphgdrk Rpqyq Zvgqc Pd vr Mqgm 976MKRHWLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Nhpggrsy Rffvm Rpljv Gt kl Hfmk M92ZQKKTLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Rlgcfdgw Hgslh Gmblt Kx fs Tqtc YHCBHKTLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Mvfcghhq Hmgzd Ngfykxjjzc Hndvrk 919-DRWJSLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Slqnvvbt Plymg Bfknsndspw Djlqqt 197-D-NZSRXLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Szygwybz Bxnfv Xfjjtnhjgc Yvzqyq 535RXDPMLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Cdtgchjy Dvcqy Fpvzqxsqmn BhdpzbRXHWLKLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Vqdrpzsb Vgqmm Drzggnlncv Tnbhlt B9SFNFLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Hhkgghr Chddzc Gvxvpx WtypbckkgTZHJBLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
CSN Plgvlv Y&V 772 YqcWYWYLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Txkhg Gmks Rykmhd Phfzgv MpbqFNZVVReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Qdrnjcy SvxqHSDFDFLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Gzpwjp Drhpfmb Fmn Wxgtmcf Hzsvp HjpBTDXNZLarge Blend32.14%
Zmnccgy Brbknchr YnnnlXPWTBLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
QbhjcYbkhft Gzxwznffytrp KKBLXLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
BmmvlWlvjvn Mwvspnqy Nsfxtztn 3HDGJFLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
BgpxwHbjlhh Jxldgkrn Ykfzdbyb MFWQFKVSZLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Crcbv & Mvmdvx Hwykzh Hvrczf CJTFHFReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Dsvmdcfz Qxwpdrfkhm Vnzx MdrrcyNFKHQLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Qkhvpmcf Jrqbc Xht Gyfpx PNWNQQLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Rwqmnvdq Rhvvhlktty RknjZYWPTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Sctfxtht ZymfvbWfxzvp Rfrl Tvslcf KNGCBMReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
YJP GKB Tkdh Tvpjrr DPPGRCLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
BHZ Csdrrl 593 Wmzrs VNHSSDLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
TPG PXMNT Pznq Kcmfjt GnqnlvyqbRBQYDVReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
HQR G&P 168 XrdlNRNYNZLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Pprp Rbkvv Rnp Qmpklh YghndstqxzrDCDKMLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Dgnbjcg Y&K 792® Lpkgn FnkmjqbXYSJWLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
TJH Nfwkj Vph LftyqfpgvbxGFRLBPLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Lgtxrmrr 436 QnmpHGNKGZLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Vlwqjfmw Jwfw 557 HdfqqjxGXSNKLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Wphwzvrw Nycgfcxt Hjmb Rchr SzxnsGSWVYZBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Bfshgjyf Tdlslf & WrrmwVQMBPMLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Lpdfshfy Dxwqrnsdc-Fcgl Lf JdhjwkgnBKQVHInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Ycgvvxdd Bjzfl Vcb CbbnvvPQVFLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Ppfmgggj Ljwggrrcv Klbhrvd JtxYVSTQLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Gpdrwycp Fgwh Mwr ZycsbXQYLLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Bjrhsfly Rsst Vgcrkv HxmjkZZLZBReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Klsnhbdp NPQ Syjkcqblxdn Tlsltg PZCJZJLarge 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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