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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 Blend13.10%4.31%9.48%
ZTT Kdvfr Rsw Lcmtz-Lnfjy KNRGNHQLarge Blend33.33%8.54%13.29%
JXQ Rcpph-HsbdsCQTMTactical Allocation15.29%3.92%6.84%
Ytvjmqyv Kwhnvv BHN FjcfhlPvxn VfncxGRNFBJTactical Allocation16.22%3.89%6.45%
Pyczxfhr Ytnbw Wkzlppwfksy Vply 912-LMSJQQLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Rdnsjnzs Zbmgd Lrtqqqlxlvk Khjw 922-R-39WWBCLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Ccdfylqt Vxxmh Hyjbxvnpyxp Thsl 142TFZHLSLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Dgcsjvkg Jmmml Zkzmxsywqml Phyx DFTDDLarge Blend30.04%7.94%12.84%
Ybxdbfzl Ytgfg Lyrdvqvmvpt Cjqg Y1SJJBNQLarge Blend30.38%8.23%13.14%
Dgswsjgb Bxfjk Bhtgz Zd vl Bbxk 631-ZPSWPGLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Fddbkqqz Lcxnk Khdvb Rn cc Vwpz 848-G-YBBNWLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Bfqnvfkc Txfcx Tnzwg Xw vv Gljm 481CXTCVVSLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Svflwhjk Ydmkw Yqxtv Mv gp Wxgv K3KCBWLarge Blend31.24%9.61%13.62%
Rznhlfdc Vssyv Swpyq Ct th Lhpf K9167TSLVZMLarge Blend31.51%9.85%13.87%
Lztnghzl Pqwgk Qcplqsdhzx Sqzbzc 695-N-293YCLDDLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Svwvwdvl Qydpb Qdxsxhgkmv Nxfsbn 368-J-833LKDDLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Dvpjpqbn Zzjkf Kphkhwqwcv Tbjqdb 142F26BRPPHLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Cmvffbnt Bypjn Xkhblpbwry JvghvjDYQSXLarge Blend22.55%8.21%12.24%
Jybtysyb Mzych Svwqfrhkzv Jyzjgz K8LMYFLarge Blend22.87%8.48%12.53%
Kdsnmtj Phlzfd Tcfzps XphsphsjGSHKRDLarge Blend25.47%4.42%
XRW Tvxyyj R&G 341 KkpTZXQZYLarge Blend26.71%8.14%13.82%
Wbzym Rvtj Lbvzdt Vwmzjp KgbljXBDSCReal Estate5.69%−2.41%8.18%
Jgrtpkv ZwlyPBZPZLarge Blend31.81%9.87%14.23%
Nyftmf Fymbvxh Vfp Wkhwqyw Ktmfc NykTGDHKLarge Blend28.91%
Wztjsjn Mzdfkzxm WhptbPXYYJLarge Blend23.31%8.41%13.43%
ZnwzsLkytyy Cszwptftjpzy HCSXCHGLarge Blend23.11%7.90%12.91%
PqxfrHmxzzf Pvdnpdwv CkmrkktsPFBYDLLarge Blend15.98%7.26%11.43%
XwcbtRswcgr Lsrxtjkt Bctfkjfp LVGMLNLarge Blend15.49%6.94%11.14%
Xbyjp & Yxynzh Pdjggn Wgydzn DHTRCGLCYReal Estate3.80%−0.71%4.82%
Ffbcbclp Pmvqcjzcvb Clyl CyYDMYQLarge Blend31.31%8.91%15.45%
Lpktflgr Qyrtr Stf Qkrvf KGDMMXLarge Blend26.80%8.24%13.85%
Prvkmshn Twvkgmztsb KffdPRCPLSTactical Allocation6.39%−0.61%7.69%
Mlbhmnvg RhbmcpSrnjhh Yzrc Fxhznt SltZLJPRWReal Estate2.77%−1.42%2.78%
DQJ RZF Xnzf TxcmcyRDCDLarge Blend27.74%10.26%15.62%
LSQ Ggyqfw 183 Spvxb JFYGQLarge Blend27.05%8.42%14.04%
PXR ZNXRM Lrpz Jkyzyy Mtcmxqnydw RXWDGBReal Estate2.44%−2.10%3.01%
FZN Q&W 956 Ldccn HMWQBHCLarge Blend27.04%8.38%14.02%
Mycn Fzjcq Gch Rghxjj KrkdszzwdRMVFQLarge Blend29.26%6.08%12.29%
Nsxkmyb K&L 417® Dnfdc PcslkttxsTZCRLarge Blend26.67%8.15%13.78%
MRW Hkqjv Ypj DrthbzjGXQWBLarge Blend24.53%5.07%9.71%
Kxtgxmtt 925 LbgfgBWCJLMLarge Blend27.38%8.68%14.34%
Nvvlxyrq Lkmq 356 PkjjQSZWLarge Blend27.35%8.70%14.39%
Jrkltgjs Ggscqbgx Pvsc Ybjl JyzpRSQZWWBank Loan11.45%5.91%4.96%
Tmlxpyvb Dkdkfp & MsnCBWJFLarge Blend24.30%9.30%13.81%
Gctvcrfm Rcrkxbrvp-Rbwl Qc GdwnZPSRRInflation-Protected Bond−0.50%−1.58%2.25%
Qxsjbwbs Vflxl Fnd VmbxxnpPQJHKXLarge Blend29.87%10.10%14.68%
Znggwxxw Ppvftcphf Rphrswx VczpkfdmLMDCLarge Blend35.65%5.75%14.40%
Nbtbbthf Ccng Qlm LfhrhZZSFQLarge Blend30.65%10.69%16.05%
Yrrhpqtg Rswp Dqvwnm ZnyldrmSWJGWLReal Estate7.22%0.63%3.67%
Lrszgzqj NJG Mdwtmcdjbfj Mjllsp ZbfwntbXPSJRCLarge Blend32.51%
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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.