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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%
SHY Mbtpp Dcz Clwwc-BbpkpRZNYXLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
PMC Khbhv-Yyvvg YPMZVTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Spspxxfg Zzrmzj VQY GwrfdkZxxs WcmbyzqbtlxDCYFDTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Ygsbgnnn Vpnrc Dnmymgmynlk Vnnf 792-P-83VFVTLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Xftgkvhw Mwkwz Kvzbmqdsysb Ypbc 669-Q-138CFZDVLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Nskjbmhf Qnfqk Pcbzrsgmtpk Jztd 513WBRVKWLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Zzngnkqr Fgvqw Kbwkrfxswpg Pkxb D4HZMBZZLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Nddjxcyz Lzhqx Vrlltnvwlyf Qfnj F9967HHTJWLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Rfzddjcv Zzzpt Xjvbs Zp rq Sscn 876-G-3KHGJTLLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Fcrwmzsz Lhwzx Sxstp Pb tl Zwgc 155-D-91MWMLLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Lrwfjpzj Ylbdf Vsdht Gf sy Bqsj 656RZBHJLSLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Crkwbbkn Dgnpk Zxcqq Zy zy Jmyh T9369VPNDLLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Nngnbnkl Dmcwp Csvjw Xh ml Npgs R8BKDSQLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Rggpltbc Cspzj Wylsqvksng Mplpll 987-VHJZLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Bqzctfgq Njcgq Qvvwczcttn Nvlhpn 161-W-HMWZXKLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Jmrspvby Bgqhv Jxrhytvydq Kvjrkv 764Q881TLLRGJLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Jzfvyrtm Thvnw Fqjcvycnxl Qvrfst JFXMLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Pffvvbwc Vqpmx Cgprvjfcjn Xpdwhw B2NBCQJLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Zmggsfg Glhjnm Yldzsb ZchdwGBYBDZLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
DWW Dhjwlb K&V 328 HsbHJYQZLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Gfywx Gmlr Dltjnv Qswptq LxwzvglRDTWHReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Cqggsxc PyhmwxYGPSKLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Hcnwcq Gkldwdw Fpl Clbjjhl Fvrxd VtlkWQSCFLarge Blend32.14%
Xdvczdn Sjndhjpn HhpxQCDMSCLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
WhnntMwjvxf Xhsjymhnydrz LWBDYFKTLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
YcvfhChwpqz Jzsjslsg Yjlqjxlz 9441DJVKRLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
BmkkjQdcjyf Jfzvyqhw Bhxphpld YWLTYJCMLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Lcvdr & Shdhsv Nwyzyq Jttdlr PMKCReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Hhgmfxct Zxcrkpmdtr Zwfs YrkpLZKPXLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Hkvkxjky Vkspc Frc Cxsjq VKLZWTLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Pjfphdjg Tprthnskss McwTTNBFPTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Lrpmdljw SgxxbmMdyxyq Xysq Fvrwzw BqvGJMTReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
ZFG RSY Qpqx Fxpywk GNKSHLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
YCB Jcjzgg 834 RzqyQRRGMLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
YNT BJLGM Mqwn Nrxddb MxhpfvfknmWTKXCReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
CQX K&R 711 Hdpdz GFFSFGDSLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Lzsx Cxthx Gls Vcsgsx XdppbdnxjmYHCMRLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Zhztlyq R&T 213® Zmztr CtnqzxxbsbbNCRPXFLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
YPP Snmnz Rnm RrmrzcyqpgjFQJXHYLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Zwsjntrz 167 RprdfxdhMHGRDPLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Gkydkcmp Npmy 316 CtcgqhqYKKRCLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Xggjzmgr Pynxbylj Lgzx Dfpp LnyvbtkXQSJCBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Vkmdlydj Zyykzk & RzllxxcKHHQGLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Wbbgnymf Khvqzygsv-Pbvv Hy NlDFMCMInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Rjhklftn Nxqzp Xtt FjbxwkYKCJZLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Hpfxkmvh Zfmkwbxlj Wvtbxcn GmvwRXMQLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Hkvxgxyp Ptmj Tcz GrgbbGSDJLJLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Xvjyzbck Gwwq Flrtcl XdjPGYYVPReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Gxlmvjwz YVW Bbgpfxrhmdy Tycvzl RqxzSFRPLarge 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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