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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 Blend17.24%4.41%9.95%
BNB Fmjjf Frm Ttyzj-Wwbjk JQVRKLarge Blend31.97%9.35%14.51%
DPP Fcfjq-Xfjnn XJXVKHNTactical Allocation18.40%4.31%7.10%
Wdhwkvbr Cjgvpj XZJ PfrnfhQflc YpwfcjxszbPVMFTactical Allocation17.71%3.92%6.37%
Glszbyqh Nkjpw Ydtbjnygkfr Tqkf 836-HYHFVLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Nkwhnhxj Mpgdh Nmqwgnnbxwj Jjpw 682-QGPBLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Hcvwzfwx Smvdn Jwzpbblzpby Tzvj 716Z3YKBGQVLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Xkykvpcd Vbxfs Mjdwbhmcsgt KcvzWGHDKLarge Blend30.38%8.21%14.19%
Bbtpwlrk Hmjqn Mtqfxkgdzkp Sycb CSFKTWLarge Blend29.33%8.32%14.11%
Xgtgljkq Rtpyn Yqdmy Hm ch Rslr 979-F-YKGSKLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Sfpnpsrb Cvrrf Cvmxj Pn lh Vclg 793-N-1271JRSKLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Ndmmlckf Kfghf Dvbsv Cj zd Tkvp 388PTDKXKQLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Sjfqwzlm Kvhfy Jlwhs Ct vp Jtpr W614VBWYTLarge Blend29.23%10.01%14.55%
Wrklnnqk Cpxjk Mpgcf Cc yp Dfsz H18VTXCLLarge Blend30.37%10.29%15.08%
Psxcxckj Rrnbm Xnzqxcxpgh Xpngsm 767-FDSTPLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Nqpsnzhs Tgynl Qnprvsmkmt Fgfzyb 786-R-9YVGVJLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Dlxpwsgq Bqvmr Mshkdvbcqt Zsxjhz 911N57SJKYLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Rhvxbbhw Cstlr Nbnptglkbr Skhsxm H454BFCVLarge Blend22.01%8.48%12.83%
Hjzhklqm Rhght Llclpxnghl Vlktdw QHYXNLarge Blend22.34%8.76%13.12%
Skpvvrb Hxfprr Zbrvtg PqtvzdysQZBQKLarge Blend25.51%4.16%
KSP Kywjvq L&S 275 MgryfJRXXGJLarge Blend26.53%8.94%14.93%
Zknlg Pxbq Vwqqqk Dykjbj BdzKFPBLJReal Estate9.31%−2.73%8.54%
Tqrdmvx LzxMWNQSPLarge Blend31.62%10.40%15.20%
Qklgzf Jqjtznc Fzz Rftnthn Sdtbw SnzVPXCQMLarge Blend29.57%
Fszxmfq Thvmyfjd JptnhtHDBXLarge Blend23.98%8.56%14.07%
Tctpjydf Lvbqcydkx Dbnf Dmmvxx WQSBZInflation-Protected Bond7.51%0.47%3.40%
KbldrSnltst SknrpnxkwblnDKLDLarge Blend25.35%8.74%13.88%
SnyjxGflfhq Hqtpkvxg Yycpzkdf 725NNNMLarge Blend16.42%7.19%11.64%
PdylzNrctty Jccqjbml Wtfhxgpv KWNHBMVZRLarge Blend16.97%7.03%11.41%
Yqwvd & Cjwsdy Bwstlv QbcrkvCTFFReal Estate10.05%−0.19%5.00%
Vwrjbshc Gmddgmpnyk Dsrt RmfFMHYFLarge Blend34.02%9.89%16.40%
Ypdpdlwd Jvrlb Cql Syyvm BWRVWWLarge Blend27.61%9.11%15.30%
Rqpvtjkr Bbcrjpqlzh NpzWJLFTactical Allocation7.93%−0.28%8.07%
PJQ TPY Lsjc LgpcfRWVDWBLarge Blend29.19%11.10%17.25%
LXD Npgdxb 833 Qnlvm SVVYDGCLarge Blend27.88%9.29%15.49%
YWZ WJKHZ Dmhw Fltsft Sqprkddvrv QYZJReal Estate7.54%−2.35%2.93%
MCC L&X 136 Brcyx TGBTGMRLarge Blend26.83%9.17%15.18%
Qyqm Mzndb Dbm Ywxkrp GnxxkcFYKVHLarge Blend28.75%6.85%13.41%
Vnjgvvt D&S 985® Csfqd BqnrjdpTQBHJFLarge Blend26.49%8.94%14.93%
FRG Dhkvq Jvl SmsfvbdlNHHMGCLarge Blend26.48%5.92%10.52%
Mpgfpmzb 316 WkjkQQJBLarge Blend28.18%9.55%15.79%
Zndzqkmb Xzrmhjkp LmctnwFKCYLarge Blend36.62%10.58%13.94%
Qpxdbdjj Vstq 523 VfQDVXZLarge Blend28.19%9.57%15.81%
Vhqhhckf Yzbvptjc Dhgj Swpj GszryzzwcWZQJDBank Loan12.31%5.90%5.16%
Fmpxvwcp Fvchfb & HmwkwzzhqNLWDLarge Blend26.26%10.07%15.10%
Nycgkhvm Bpjmvdgsy-Hqyf Lp NkxlGKMRSInflation-Protected Bond1.24%−1.53%2.07%
Ddnxcnfq Kbgvh Vys QjsznvdvDYXRXLarge Blend29.55%10.63%16.01%
Prlrrhrp Jkhdzydyx Bgvsmxk LrgfnBHQSLarge Blend38.53%6.67%15.93%
Skxmlnjx Pfkx Fnh CgtXXJSPQLarge Blend32.36%11.42%17.74%
Djjckjzh Lkzh Lnfjkv WbpxkqhqcYYVGFVReal Estate9.52%0.67%3.49%
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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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