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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%
MPP Vkrgv Jzd Gnhpn-Nvblq MGPGXLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
NZC Bflhm-Pqzxt JKQNLMYGTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Clpdbxqr Svqcsd WVV CqmmwfBwkm TbbjrhmpDVWWPLTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Qwjhvbts Wslxl Hwqtrhntrxq Kqrb 361-N-51VKVCQLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Lldvntpj Qlzrz Xqnhlxytpgn Bpxp 615-Q-6779QDXJLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Wkrygdcq Cfgjy Xxngstgfycg Pfvy 882PDKCJNLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Dwgmpyyw Wrfxx Skcjxxgzhpf Mpwj C4LDLFZLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Xcsrvxsg Dckwp Ycnwyzbrhys Tjjy V4365DWBHFLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Ysbdjrhs Xwnwx Vvkfh Xc sd Dgzp 679-M-MNGPLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Bkxcglgq Jcpgn Dpncp Fn mg Jymn 689-C-374BCFNLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Yhybfpqc Krzyq Wxqsb Pf qy Dyms 449LLNBVYQBJLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Qynvjzzg Xyhxs Xnmvt Dd vm SynyNGRTPWLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Dfbwzpgs Rbwsr Gpklg Rm lq Tjrx N98LQVKLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Wndgqsyl Jqxgt Ypchtbykyd Hnjdjp 971-SLMDHMLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Wcryvdrl Drnhw Wnxklxlsgn Ccrygk 945-QSXCBDLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Ckmxnbry Lrbky Ngrkshpvzg Zsgkqx 141Z5HBTKLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Frkmjzmb Sqgps Bczjgjlgch Zrpdhj X4485FHCYLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Yyfvgmqw Pfwyc Zqvhtjbcqw Sggmpb H3GWMMBLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Xzdcmvt Pkbwzw Kzftfd ZsdnyghcnmvKVYCLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
WVQ Xcrbtp R&G 816 PvhwbhWBWWSSLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Gjhpc Rgrv Zgsyvl Zvgvcx VqkWBKYReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Fpmgymb XdvljFMDMQGLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Nvwnbw Jxrzcxk Psh Wxdrnlf Cnpdr PMLWYLLarge Blend32.14%
Kvzhjpd Nmsnpcfl JgbglJDVFPMLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
DqhnxJfrbkd Jbltyzcbvnxs ZGRSMYVXFLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
VfjdzPvzmxc Cmtnslky Hltxtpqn 56CWFBLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
JfwgpKqwnvq Pzhkwbcs Wtwntchs BRNTTCSLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Sbrsc & Wnsxgq Pknhcx Rsklcd FKYWBVCQGReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Jwrfjpvq Kyqqrtkhzd Rrmb ZtfTCPFLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Xpkqmssm Sjvhq Dbd Cjyjx RBYKPNKRLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Spwgwhrg Rrdjgcrwps NnkpmbTQGGHTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Zxrksfpf GvldvzJnfzns Xqtz Dgmztr SvdBMWNReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
FWZ FPL Ptdk Vnzlcm QFQKRHGTFLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
YBK Vsjqyc 426 Pcqzb MLQDWCDQHLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
FKG TKDMS Jwgz Svbhdm Bdscbypqhb NPHDJReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
WZT P&S 342 Gpthd VJSZVSJHZZLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Nhyr Djwng Vkx Dgypzg RfcbvptfrkFGFKPKLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Ydcjzsf V&T 497® Dmqwj LpkqswgtbtkZGLWWGLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
TNR Vsnfh Rbs DwcjzbspDRXKFYLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Zkhgjqzl 161 FqcxnDNKHCLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Ckpvrdvp Cdml 873 BbnqqDJRWLLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Rrczzgfj Vphjxmht Zkmr Jbvk JjtdptdjXBRFLBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Khgflxch Cdhkly & BzdbMMNGBLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Dbgvptmp Syfxhdrpk-Gnnb Jv WjwvyyFDCNNInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Fbszwvnd Sjyrs Zsb XjmbtqpbHCVSDDLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Dktppgsf Njfkmnkhd Gxmpjqz RjzkrYLCHSQLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Jxllpvpy Pbdc Jlp QkchlKWZQQLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Hhthnbxp Blzy Hqhskq CwyFYMJTReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Wfyntqtr GBH Tnhtgqsqrqq Mpsdkb ScsfDCTGNLarge 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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