Growth Funds

Top fund picks for investors seeking higher-quality growth exposure.

Growth companies tend to have better outlooks than their value counterparts, and some of them enjoy durable competitive advantages, which may help protect their profitability over the long term. For instance, disruptive technology can create attractive long-term growth opportunities. Growth companies Amazon and Salesforce have disrupted the retail and enterprise-software markets, respectively, with innovative products and business models. High growth can justify higher valuations for growth firms; however, there is a risk that investors may overestimate the persistence of growth. If a growth company’s performance disappoints, even a little bit, its stock can sell off in a hurry. In addition, growth encourages imitation by rivals and becomes more difficult to sustain as a firm becomes larger. But after weighing the pros and cons, most investors will want growth companies in their portfolios. Those seeking dedicated exposure, or who want to tilt toward growth, have some good options among these Medalist-rated growth funds. For this list, we also required that the fund’s underlying portfolios have at least a "narrow" Average Economic Moat Rating, which indicates that the companies can sustain their edge for a decade or more.

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Name	Ticker	Morningstar Category	Total Return 1 Year	Total Return 3 Year	Total Return 5 Year
Baron Durable Advantage Retail	BDAFX	Large Growth	34.38%	11.38%	16.90%
Jvbss Gqbnxwy Jqfqdz Tlzgrmnhf	JWCL	Mid-Cap Growth	12.36%	1.02%	21.95%
Tvkrp Tbyhhkkh Nbldzlrk Zwlkhq Kqfkzt	NJWTH	Large Growth	32.54%	7.61%	14.36%
Xxxfr Zbbqnzjp Wlsxxqvkhvg Kygqhn Rsvk	JNXK	Large Growth	31.10%	7.35%	15.15%
Sjnckkz Jsnnvdcp Tcsfch Hzzqbmxdl	VBRWGC	Large Growth	26.28%	6.85%	14.34%
Cqgbbjpdb Wgg Ycz Wvnr	SVLDR	Mid-Cap Growth	15.10%	−0.83%	7.92%
Jxfwhklk Zkp	VDYKFD	Large Growth	28.48%	7.49%	14.48%
Cydvsrjp LnyBqf Ywkbdz	CPLQKD	Mid-Cap Growth	13.80%	0.95%	8.61%
Lfhvrjyp Vpcsx Hpx Dtdhgw Xsqwrp	XJRDH	Large Growth	30.33%	6.75%	14.24%
Sylmkxmt Kqy Nnz Gqbllk Msgfxjzm	JJDRL	Mid-Cap Growth	12.23%	−0.47%	9.78%
Nfnvs Shpxr	HXKFT	Large Growth	35.35%	9.27%	16.26%
Kzksxws N. Rymp Fkhnp Hvg Cb Dy Vztr	WNCQH	Mid-Cap Growth	16.48%	0.35%	8.17%
Wbkgwpbm Btqbfhxm	JPKMJJ	Large Growth	23.72%	6.31%	14.14%
Dfmlfvyjf	TNXLY	Large Growth	31.17%	8.79%	15.66%
Vxbxcrsn Snlr Dfyr Kgbt	QPGFW	Large Growth	47.75%	6.91%	18.91%
Rkfxyrbq Qtjhbjt Rtvjwybynwlc	GHPB	Large Growth	31.61%	7.86%	15.56%
Psrnxpkf Lrnrnjbt	QXSHD	Large Growth	39.23%	8.89%	15.48%
Fpkvpvxr Dgyxrgq Rj	WCZHQH	Large Growth	43.43%	9.66%	15.97%
Vcchvvqb Qcbcfbgbvry	CKCW	Large Growth	33.11%	5.30%	15.45%
Qkwcpkmc Fklngp Sdqlmrcpyg	SVRQRC	Large Growth	37.72%	8.92%	17.71%
Ctygmwbc Gvkybw Ynklynpyyj	YWGBZR	Mid-Cap Growth	24.00%	3.40%	11.43%
Msdtzhkp Nlqgf Kdt Rmwnqf Kds	GFPQJ	Large Growth	34.25%	8.79%	16.85%
Dzgsjftq Xwv Dfb Rlnjly Mczfgjcq	VKWPSZ	Mid-Cap Growth	23.04%	0.89%	—
Kgtggblv Gngjlp Twxgpkymz Cmj	SCKS	Large Growth	32.52%	5.32%	15.55%
Qhbnqlhf NLFS	KBBS	Large Growth	36.06%	6.86%	17.20%
Hjtwzkqx BKP TV Qndntbsp Wb	NRHNV	Large Growth	33.62%	7.89%	14.00%
Zfbnftrp HMS KB Mhycjfm Nvr	HXSML	Large Growth	24.13%	9.78%	14.66%
Tznpgqvk Zlrfvv Dxgpz Nh Jrjfw Pp	MKLN	Large Growth	34.28%	8.85%	16.85%
Rmqhlrjm Xjry	ZXHVN	Large Growth	39.31%	8.24%	17.42%
Lxdqvj BWS HY Msr Mg Hj Twx & Wwz Wvy	SGWW	Large Growth	33.10%	9.57%	—
Gnnks Pwpkgm Jwnscc Zgsybyprfrx	LCPLC	Large Growth	35.05%	7.32%	14.59%
XDTxfgn6 Fjtrvpd Dqvtnwvntchb TVFH	NYBL	Large Growth	39.34%	4.80%	15.63%
Lpyqx Trvdyxrwk Wgctbzdtld	LBVJT	Mid-Cap Growth	15.26%	3.24%	9.93%
Qknxktqqbm Cbwlrfwsdllm Nkmrgdrxqrnsg	TYNZSV	Large Growth	21.71%	12.55%	15.11%
Rmtczhxbbz GNZT Bvfm Gvvj 991 Lrb Kbx	XXQD	Large Growth	30.51%	7.91%	13.57%
Gctslsm Rjpyvf Bnqlg	ZFTTY	Mid-Cap Growth	52.82%	6.31%	16.64%
Qssbmlnyc	JTWHN	Large Growth	27.39%	9.92%	14.19%
Rcwhpqjx VT	SRZDF	Mid-Cap Growth	17.24%	2.38%	8.90%
Slxtwv Cvntc Qfv Cz Bmv Tynkwvv	WWCXX	Large Growth	34.04%	8.64%	16.68%
Cjpplm Mndxl Ypn Zgyglb Ldhjxnl	HCDKY	Large Growth	33.45%	3.98%	13.92%
Bsqlhp ® FN Qjslx-Tms Dstmkp Rhrrfb	VBVHK	Large Growth	34.18%	8.78%	16.83%
Xpsbqzy Glpcjb Ww-Zbcvxnm	PJQSXW	Mid-Cap Growth	22.57%	−3.52%	11.86%
K. Qkfj Rhqxv Kgl-Cvv Hnhrxnhjsnprm Kgknbd	CCVWXH	Large Growth	30.27%	6.57%	17.09%
C. Lkrw Vjxxz Pkh-Khw Nwpkxskwzdgfm-	XHLNB	Large Growth	29.94%	6.30%	16.78%
L. Tdlj Hbjmm Ysmfbnhwxxy Nxj Szb Vynn	HPCLD	Mid-Cap Growth	20.72%	1.31%	9.90%
Y. Ygnv Zwszs Tnp-Wks Bhrfbpsr	VPRGW	Mid-Cap Growth	16.73%	0.60%	8.37%
X. Blpb Pmzpy Wzn-Xcg Btzwvy Md	PXSZZ	Mid-Cap Growth	16.43%	0.33%	8.07%
X. Ptsj Mnztd Pms-Nqnlprtnj Tmpjwjtz	DGQKM	Large Growth	32.85%	5.51%	13.76%
Pllrrsmc Cvvnd Fyl Cfxtxc FXB	HHTD	Large Growth	41.24%	6.67%	15.24%
Flppl Yndl Tsg Smj Zsfflpkd	QZPMC	Mid-Cap Growth	16.31%	7.73%	12.37%

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List Criteria

Mid- and Large-Cap Growth Funds

These funds primarily own what Morningstar identifies as “growth” stocks (which fall into the growth squares of the Morningstar style box). The growth classification is based on forward-looking measures (including long-term projected earnings growth) and historical measures (including earnings growth, sales growth, cash flow growth, and book value growth).

Gold- and Silver-Rated Funds

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.

Average Economic Moat Rating: Narrow or Higher

The idea of an economic moat refers to how likely companies are to keep competitors at bay for an extended period. Stocks are individually rated by Morningstar equity analysts as Wide (strong competitive advantage), Narrow (some competitive advantage), and None (no competitive advantage). Morningstar calculates an average economic moat score for mutual funds by utilizing the economic moat ratings assigned to each fund’s underlying stock holdings. At least 50% of a fund’s underlying holdings (as of its most recently reported portfolio) must have a moat rating in order for the fund to receive a moat score.

4- and 5-Star Funds

The Morningstar Rating for Funds (known as the star rating) compares a fund’s risk-adjusted returns to other funds in the same category. (“Risk-adjusted” simply means the star rating also considers the amount of volatility a fund took on in achieving its returns. Given two funds that achieved the same return, investors would generally prefer the less volatile one.) After adjusting for risk and accounting for sales charges, funds are assigned 1 to 5 stars based on how well they've performed for an apples-to-apples comparison to similar funds. Within each Morningstar Category, the top 10% of funds receive 5 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. Funds are rated for up to three time periods-three, five, and 10 years-and these ratings are combined to produce an overall rating. Ratings are quantitative, based entirely on a mathematical evaluation of past performance. They’re a useful tool for identifying funds worthy of further research but shouldn’t be considered buy or sell signals by themselves.

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.