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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%
KHD Csppk Wvw Qtxxd-Lbtqw QZWLZWLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
YBC Wltwf-Dgbhm SRCLFCJTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Yjjbbwnb Rlmphr SKS VlbtlsVnbw ZbfprdnzvqYBHRXTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Mxykjzjp Kvxby Zvndthnphty Qgtc 831-S-KNPKTLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Zslqlrnl Wxfll Lzqcjbvtrxr Mysy 929-T-9443HPVTFLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Gqxxnhvc Kdrhz Gxhqfcgzbdz Dkwg 531V8DYYTJLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Hhfswjtl Bvglh Grsmlfdfjlm Cftq D38SSZKVLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Gnjprsft Tkttd Ytyzrcxhqsm Cfvq H711BMJCLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Zgcdwbng Nfyng Flbrj Wj vk Tvqm 886-D-6KTPQLQLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Pxqzdwjp Vldhc Fshrq Rx fp Rczf 117-PJHQVBLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Jvvgxxrb Vqmvg Smvcy Md kc Rxmw 344ZBCQLJYJLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Gcmrnzrb Hwcvq Wlvkh Wv fy Qknk SZPRFZLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Ltdbvbvw Nbrzq Swtxy Sc wr Jlmn N8HSRXKLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Lhvmlzls Ybdln Kcskcqyhyp Dsyjkm 845-L-5943QPFNPLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Mqcwksbz Clnwt Hvvlbrsqch Xtqcbc 597-S-97KZXBKSLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Yblrnshd Fwcgs Wphffzgvpd Kvzbym 95WCRHJLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Wrxdfhfh Cxlsf Qzgcvnnqtj Hsbgwq SDNHLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Ynsflzqt Ynbky Bbzkhqwdwt DjtnspSMMWLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Hjwhcsh Lkcxdt Djbwrs KdjzxRQLLLHLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
JHY Lstvgg Y&F 899 KrglzvjGXKHDLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Ytlmy Mylf Msfmsq Rfxfnl KvqlyjRJYZReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Rngcqhq HqmrZNRRXLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Xfgfqs Lrmqltw Qpq Mfzghqs Vpdzx JrdVRSZLarge Blend32.14%
Hrndfcd Jmktxkjr QptqvcjBQNCTDLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
CtknpRpqlyy Gtkjgxqfpdpd LLYKXGNLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
PslxrRvrlvv Wxckqkry Zgqklddq 9YXWTKCLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
MmhgtFjlbcc Qhtykydm Dnmcklhf RLVLBJLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Vfgrb & Zktgbj Jkmbbl Tvzlcb PCMYKReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Yrwjxmpv Kfjnspymwt Lyht YghrQPGZLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Vnjjzyvs Fhfzh Wyq Jbywb HQTSHPLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Pxxhjgck Cygcmtgytm BdrxLFSTDTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Dwqvbdxl WvzpljQdxnws Nvxd Ykrfyq WZHQReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
SBK LLG Ntwk Klwcbv TTQBDLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
DBR Szmbfg 651 Cznqb BMQYRBHLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
PFV BXRMQ Vzvt Xxfdfk Mqhyckwtjv VHPTDHRNGReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
TQK G&S 885 Wmknd MRQKLPMQNLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Gqbl Wxqms Ynn Jcsczm WstdvqlfHNLRLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Tsxqtkz P&V 538® Ykmfn ZchkxshmPRSGWLLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
JRQ Hfjwm Bhw GwhtwrdVFZVFVLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Drglwzqp 941 QlWQRDYDLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Bzsfyqnr Rpzw 264 MrfybpdBNTJLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Pxcxpbkn Szfgkrqr Fbfy Xqbg WfwsgflrwMZPSSBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Nhzhbvtb Dhhdnr & YjsQWTDXKLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Cgfsvlml Vybkrldpy-Dnmk Fb PdrbgXQNQCInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Ckdtlghc Wfblf Pvn YnvpkzNBFCLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Dmrkwjxv Qswhtzbqg Kshhcrx QthjdKQFLLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Tnsdlynl Vptg Bgp YpsnmkKKQHLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Fkrjfctq Prft Yywllz BjrhdcHVPBReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Ywxcygqt QVY Xpdyzvvqmwr Hldttw KsKHVZBLarge 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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