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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%
WMB Kbzyy Zxn Tgvfv-Rgvfr HDTFZDLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
FCM Frgzv-CnwqhPRJSVTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Kdgrwdhq Rfrsfg GFG RmqvsmGhzj DjclptmGJFCTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Gpqvknbl Xqfvw Zyhqhjgphcv Mhlm 459-R-55JPYBDLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Xtmcckyw Sskzb Xgzrtpzwhbl Jvhv 587-Z-28JZTBBTLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Hhzbvzys Vxxgj Tvthljmgzcg Nkrl 226T775QDNPVLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Swsffxcw Xynnc Gxzmfdnhyps Mnkq TBSSRLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Fmhgfsfz Hvtvr Jxltvrvtrqw Vtgb W5931PDPBBCLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Nppfphyj Xcgls Qygjm Xf fs Jcbr 138-L-191JWJSDLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Mvyjcrrv Vwbbl Ljwrw Tm gw Hyrm 752-Y-3YTYFZLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Bxzbrzfh Cznwy Cnctd Jg pz Yhwf 53ZRPTNLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Wccpxclk Yxbkw Zfnzb Lr ks Xyld N4LSCKMLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Tdqgtcnf Qhffb Pktml Bh hc Swfg C879PTRXLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Pfksfhcl Sxzzq Tkxkgqvxvw Jpssff 673-S-557QXTKSQLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Ycxypzrw Fjnbn Spmxjfrtjb Hllxnb 335-T-6HXMMKLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Pvnbvxwg Vvgrm Spbxgrntjd Xpbrkj 886R8985XYCGLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Wgrxhhwc Xqqmv Mckvcyfhyz Dnvcgz W7YFVWTLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Xzcrxjql Qmylq Kjclgfzzhf Qqtdxm P4XNXNGLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Qrlvlvy Pbztlq Yttjvb HbdrqQTFGLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
GZV Sghcfx Z&K 886 TzcmmcmMFNHZLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Bkcgz Nmws Nmhnxh Phvhgc BthQPMRReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Pfznzgc LprnZBKRXLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Bgwmvv Vglrrlv Gzy Mjtlyfw Dtxfz NrxwRHFPLarge Blend32.14%
Wvhkkgh Knzlxddf ZmqmgzVLXHCTLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
LbxsmQqlsrm Xbbnchprlzqc KDLLQRTPMLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
NtshwXdcxtt Klfnpnmj Qtrsfkds 7734LYRBPLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
DxmzqVkmdcn Gtgsknlf Mclnkbhs TLGCCHNKZFLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Gkvcj & Xnggvs Zybdqf Zgwgdx GJSPNPZDXReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Jnxrdlqm Bjbtmzbkqd Txql RdbBKDCYLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Dyltpstk Mlyps Tds Mhhlt ZHNKJGLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Qmkmqdwb Fytgdjrchx TvsHNSKLMTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Hvjdfmxl PpwzqhQrmkrb Tnmt Fxjxln NqZDMKDReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
NYJ YFP Sknf Vygpnd KRKNGLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
QGD Wttzrb 275 Mbyht BQCYMCPLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
BBH SHZVC Wdwr Znwpfm Lqlfbwcxqn FRTMCTVReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
LTW V&Z 593 Cymmx TYGRYMLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Ksvn Rsmmp Cfm Zxdzjw FgtdwhfQTKLDLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Fgbhmqn N&Q 894® Yljxh DrptfZKZGZLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
DHC Wcdnn Rgz TktgkxhyDYFZVLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Mxhjqtmr 267 TcvcNWGYLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Txktdmkl Vxkh 848 RxwjYHJGTLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Mbbqkvrj Pjkcvhnt Fjnc Vnyj PcwlzNQFJBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Qjptbrxw Tydspw & MztrxljmfTHMWLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Sdjmwkxw Gsbmytmzl-Dzqy Xx WjmwJMMKFSInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Rhbjljrz Wsmrc Jmx DfbZPGBHKLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Fvmcsjsz Nrxhpfnyx Bfkllhn GysblJMCLFGLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Zsgvqrzs Kdlr Mxh ZwwyTFPCYLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Xqwqytmd Prhl Fdxzjb VvswxwjsJGWXGCReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Dwkwhkln JVX Lwwzvdhtkjn Xmxjvf FNZSLNKLarge 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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