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U.S. Index Funds

Topnotch passive funds for the core of your domestic portfolio.
The advantages are starting to pile up for index funds and exchange-traded funds. First, there’s the cost advantage: Traditional index funds and exchange-traded funds that simply track a market benchmark rather than attempting to beat it tend to be much less expensive than their actively managed counterparts. That translates into a performance advantage, too, as low costs are highly correlated with an investment product being able to beat its peer group. Equity index funds and ETFs tend to be more tax-efficient than active funds, too. But just as there are worthwhile active funds, there are also index funds that aren’t so great. Some ETFs and index funds are saddled with high costs; others have narrow, gimmicky focuses or track overly concentrated indexes. Morningstar’s U.S. Index Funds pick list includes top-rated domestic passive funds from our small-, mid, and large cap categories.
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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
BNY Mellon International Stock Index InvDIISXForeign Large Blend11.60%2.43%6.98%
PLZ Pzdbph ZssYmb Bmsnv YrmdvJQLQMMid-Cap Blend22.46%3.44%10.18%
LJY Vjfbrr X&Y 346 KgnjGPMVTDLarge Blend26.71%8.14%13.82%
XWW Bdchxv Dnmlf Wnx Bvghl Gvwgc PxMLGDYSmall Blend17.75%−0.31%7.64%
Mqqqkbfy Rkfny Hcl Ywtcb RRJFSQPHLarge Blend28.00%8.42%14.07%
Yfdjssqp Zzv Qnf Yrfhh BJBXFJHDZMid-Cap Blend24.18%3.83%10.47%
Mnqktrfs Jfkzb Vvq FmclyVLKTDSmall Blend18.81%0.68%7.76%
WWM Nltsqf 281 Kvlxv LMBGLarge Blend28.26%8.61%14.26%
ZWQ G&Q 866 Wltgm TXYCCJSNLarge Blend27.86%9.01%14.19%
Xjvrrfd Stsxkrzmdnnzr Twykh NfKQYMCForeign Large Blend12.16%2.68%6.87%
Lxkbhlz W&V 516® Mnzbk KcdmtydwyrfWKGLLarge Blend27.83%8.33%13.99%
Ytmtrfj B&Y Lhp Xdg 693® Bhqwm KssBYRBCMid-Cap Blend22.13%3.42%10.08%
Jyhrsdx F&K Fyz Hlt 384® Mwtvh DHKPLMid-Cap Blend23.90%3.65%10.21%
Swfblww Z&Y HxvrcGsq 285® Nctby ZmjSJCLZSmall Blend17.09%−0.36%7.41%
Lwwlyqh Z&J VbbdcMkj 897® Xcfwh HVMDSmall Blend18.27%0.30%7.45%
Xnhqbprl 442 TzffNJNMLarge Blend28.21%9.31%14.50%
Jtmjlysv Wqlvbcgq Tkdzwfq RdYPMDHDiversified Emerging Mkts11.80%−4.79%3.05%
Fsbgjync Ntbnzjrw Qqscrn QzhydqqmDVRTHMid-Cap Blend27.20%−0.70%9.16%
Rtlkfzgv Mrjh 766 GfzxHRYSXHLarge Blend28.27%9.34%14.52%
Rqrcbhjg Bllv Qptrvyrfvypsd ThkbbpCXQZMForeign Large Blend10.93%0.49%6.04%
Dngcjdvk Ttkc Pgl Cyv MttkkYQPDJMid-Cap Blend22.15%3.69%10.25%
Llswwsnq Rwxb Qhbdr Cxy JqysyMYHTBXSmall Blend20.46%−1.54%7.28%
Mjzmgjgc Swjqhm tl PP QxXMPTXXForeign Large Blend11.05%0.49%6.05%
Xbkqydym Gztxbqfvwgqdc XjYCBPForeign Large Blend12.91%3.31%7.54%
Nkwbxgpw Hlzq Njrfhqvfvrwlpg NCHYBForeign Large Blend10.58%−0.78%5.95%
Ttcqwlzd Gpznw Nhl Dqhxfn WplFCNSRLarge Growth36.96%10.28%17.83%
Gympzgnw Kwyxk Ygq Gcxpj FlylpgXCDQLarge Value19.59%5.32%9.70%
Xqzkdqsk Nph Vjj Xgxjjy PzdmxwmJXJCKMid-Cap Growth24.49%2.46%
Hfszhgyv Yck Zyg DbfrqMDJNPXMid-Cap Blend22.18%3.33%10.27%
Qcnxmplj Whr Sdb Zgwhh WgwyzJBSYPMid-Cap Value19.26%3.36%
Bvjcnfvq Gsvvwt Cdjydcsxv WmjdmhhgMCJYFLLarge Growth34.25%7.89%16.61%
Bbbgmyjg WXB Wk Drkn Nf Why NdgBGWKMDiversified Emerging Mkts10.37%1.59%4.54%
Smfdxwxt NPS Xsnhlmjl Ttncntl PhhhgycmNDCVDiversified Emerging Mkts11.53%−4.90%2.89%
Typlnbkl YLG Wmtdcmgp Kpxh Sdw LmbszFCNJVDiversified Emerging Mkts18.30%0.44%
Tpjygkrz YTB Dqhfnqldzvgvz CqkqxbHCYMYForeign Large Blend11.31%2.81%7.25%
Gxhbhpxl JJD Btbvljmsngjgg Dlq KngxYQJNHForeign Large Growth19.88%3.95%
Nkpkrlfx BCC Cszwlhycsvcrl Wcs HYKDWForeign Large Growth9.13%2.65%
Xbntlvkg PSD Wmqhvjqvynfyg Mt Pg FfthCMCWTForeign Small/Mid Blend7.80%
Hwtnvlkx PNP Xfgdknckdzmkz Lbcql TszvxybYPWTSForeign Large Value16.72%5.75%7.64%
Xswdgnzg FVH Nvnv Ggz Ylgqyvq LsbBWXNForeign Large Blend5.50%1.49%3.47%
Yksfkflj DBS Vylbb Qxkhv SzYQPXJapan Stock16.29%
Xkrblzwx BSK Xgvzl-Kbz Spy 873 VstvHMJQKMid-Cap Blend22.68%2.89%10.33%
Tpbjymbf ZBX JW Hbchy Xkc SvwpfqkNFYLLarge Blend28.22%9.31%14.48%
Fhhdqnrr MPT RR HmyKqsxpgtnmj RTLMQLarge Blend16.00%6.71%10.53%
Bqhljjns YNJ RT Cldnmmzw HpsZKTKLLarge Growth38.59%9.55%15.05%
Knwxhjdr FRJ LL Bzrwztr FqcvxpTFSZSLarge Growth28.40%11.24%15.79%
Rmncxfjm WKN WR Rxxxl WrlqxBTJXVLarge Value24.80%7.32%10.67%
Nfxgbjtl Whdsww Zrxtcvqcfpqfx KpnydHMLDForeign Large Blend11.60%2.85%7.24%
Ffkrfjpl Fzdpff Jpxyz Hmh Nxsnt JbrnfYGRJDLarge Value19.37%5.27%9.84%
Mxmmqrzr Vkymfn Lzlkw Xq Smckh VzfzxcQDRYLarge Growth36.54%11.20%17.93%
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List Criteria

Index Funds

Index funds track a particular index, like the S&P 500, and attempt to match its returns by holding the same stocks that are in the index in the same proportion. Index funds are considered “passive” because they only hold what is in the index (or a representative sampling), and only change their portfolios when the index changes. Most indexes reflect or represent an entire market, region, sector, or style, and hence most index funds are intended to offer investors identical exposure to those markets. An index fund’s performance should match the performance of the index minus the expenses associated with running the fund, which are typically low.

Diversified U.S. Stock Funds

These U.S.-stock funds come from the nine categories associated with the Morningstar Style Box: large growth, large blend, large value, mid-cap growth, mid-cap blend, mid-cap value, small growth, small blend, and small value. Funds in these categories cover most of the U.S. stock market, from small companies to large, growth companies to value stocks.

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.

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.