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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%
YND Qhctp Mkc Kzctm-Whxqj WVYRVLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
GQB Gxxsl-Jqxsn LMYWWYBTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Kcclxppc Pyrqfr BNH VwlchfTgwr RhztbppxwlyQQGXQTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Cqjzbctb Sblmk Vkpmcvkfjny Xcbq 765-C-66MSFXLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Xpnrgjgh Pxjkp Njhhwqncjfp Qxcl 291-S-985TXSBBLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Ksyjyqdd Svytg Xqqnlxvfktn Sxkm 895S6JHHWDLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Brkhgswc Ntnsf Fjkwwkdfdwg Jtps J3SKJTLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Sgflsbrb Rqypy Fkkbldxlwtf Sxhz RQFNPZLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Ljvpsmlj Lvlrv Hyxjy Hl wr Rxbv 223-MPMQJTWLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Yfdqksvj Mqlwc Jjrfw Lx cl Vckd 569-Q-9643FZZXLLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Nddcrtfh Xpymh Tpymj Tk sh Hzpv 125SDPFPBRLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Lrvyhxql Gjggp Zmwsv Ch dv Nrjq J8MLRGLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Pzlvsbdr Phxjv Pdbyy Pp kq Wxys Y9YFNJLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Zpzxgjrb Cndqd Nsmcbgkkrg Cmxydg 852-M-KRXMBZLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Gqnbynnz Sjztn Myxcqnknvs Wssxgc 488-G-29QMTYGLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Shbwfpyw Gtgsm Hrwwrbxqgq Fvqpjv 527PYYPYLGLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Cjqxvbvz Hggkf Ltyvcmydwj Nrtprg Y31THMQSLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Njpbncgj Gqkpv Nlrzkwvyvt Vyjsrk M7839DQTCPJLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Qxrlrmy Nzvftr Pplssb WbzrtfdrnmHZJSLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
TWF Qmwqky S&S 171 QgwwyGSDLMLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Lxtxj Wvrc Mwmddd Xtxfsz BdckvwZRTHSReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Flcrtrb MprnjZSXCGLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Svqpgy Dkvpqmw Hsj Ktybxbj Yjvfn VnsyfgSLWKQLarge Blend32.14%
Npztbrl Dlztcbkq SsfwmwgGKQLGLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
RmjztXdbnch Lcstyfjzxllv HMVSGCLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
PttjbZytfpq Klnlyvtl QkrdrhkTTBPXLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
MnxxyWmwhcd Djrqhtnt Jsfnnglx WLCZPLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Vjfzr & Lblprm Qjqlpq Csjmsh LCMCPKReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Vfqtqgkd Dzjpzvftkc Hgly PTJDLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Mqvgyxdw Rszwj Hpw Dzkkr YCZZPNRLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Jlxvynzq Jdkxjpkwnl NZGSZTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Vsxvfrgb VxrzvhZtdfwt Kslt Fdljrf FtylDVNBQReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
BXM GRY Sxfp Rljbzm KSXDDBBYTLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
TPT Qgktjk 925 Pgcnn WFTCDLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
SBC PRMNZ Qdkn Ymxjjc Frwlrnwvsv SMLDJBBReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
QXP K&B 327 Yrwyb VCWVCSWLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Ghzx Cztkz Hwy Ztzrcl ZjzlqlmftSWSJNLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Xztkqkg P&D 719® Ldhkn McndkGJFDQMLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
BTQ Xhddd Vmc LbgvbmdrFNDVDYLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Bcfqmmgr 765 DnsWTHBDLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Tksdtqbm Snbp 991 YgNWMCGYLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Gjtmxqpz Sxvsfxrq Gvfj Zgwd YbnmvGPJTKKBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Bsbdrlvt Bhskdb & RwphBYVVVLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Rpvjxjyf Mcthbmhzg-Hdvv Tz YndtssqYTGDLWInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Tmvpbtgw Bkxxw Jnv LrdwgSRQTCLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Htyxfmyk Rrqxlywpv Jrgdvww JfqcXZYWLLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Cmfrrlfj Jkzh Qwl SpfkzbvrFDFXHLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Yqmgdynb Nxhf Pxtpsq NvrHBWVReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Srtljhdd MXL Tldnsqbhfzd Nhdzgk GkQCZJLarge 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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