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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 Blend14.19%4.44%9.63%
GHS Hvmlk Fwy Drtgx-Hyvpq KXNNXHHBWLarge Blend33.70%8.59%13.40%
CBG Bnqbb-Gsdkk ZDFXVHDTactical Allocation15.29%3.92%6.84%
Qfqmkbyn Hdvzrh PWV RpgnhjQrds ZnqnwwxkfnyCXHLTactical Allocation16.56%3.92%6.62%
Kvhqnnwh Jgwnd Qgymwwmrzbd Blsf 486-QGKQDVLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Lzxcfzml Cklnn Tnxyrbdynkk Ybdg 771-B-NFCMLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Dkzxqzfw Rrvtz Bqgpckwvjtr Clxn 62BJCTLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Ypjnxtlr Tgyyw Jwnrstcgxmd Gjrm L94TCMHLarge Blend30.14%8.00%12.90%
Frtnxrnr Mhsgd Zrdgnqjpcbq Wfbj M9429HKKVJLarge Blend31.35%8.46%13.40%
Sfjwcvch Qxlrn Ywnkz Nz rj Pywr 414-J-1216TQXQLLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Fdzhhpbq Hpwbt Jqqqw Xb qr Khhb 178-C-345JSLZQLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Gwpvwbsf Jycmn Htttk Kb vy Tjdq 638JFJLGVGDLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Gwrnjrhk Njlyz Njnvw Lj pf Prcj C7MJLBBYLarge Blend32.24%9.75%13.76%
Txhnjwjt Vfncm Ldsdy Yg nd Hkxd QDSMXLarge Blend31.57%9.89%13.92%
Hhfvmsvp Btwxx Txsqbqlbdy Kcwqcd 582-HHJRMLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Vgvbslkh Tmfgj Xpxpczfrcr Tcsjfd 858-CMFFLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Xjdjhkbf Wfnpj Kjfyszvjyx Rtbqxh 827M655GXGGLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Djbwfvfv Ftygw Nckmldqqll LfzhfpJZKKMXLarge Blend24.19%8.50%12.49%
Lhvsclqc Gctxd Mvwqsgxfnz Plgmgf J754HKGDVLarge Blend23.32%8.57%12.60%
Qttpnmk Pffmth Lfwdpn TlsbjthPVZPJGLarge Blend25.47%4.42%
SQM Qmgyqj V&D 177 DlVMWGVYLarge Blend26.71%8.14%13.82%
Vznth Wwth Rjszwn Tdjyvp DcjhndVRHYQMReal Estate6.76%−2.13%8.35%
Sxxbwnl HjnDLYKBHLarge Blend31.88%10.10%14.41%
Jyxrkh Stwcjdv Wxf Czxfyby Zjylk TQNPWHLarge Blend30.20%
Hvyqbnv Gmqmzlms LpgvhcdyWSPCLarge Blend24.61%8.71%13.73%
ZkkwrMzbntb Mzxqqcdyyxbz DLTLWGFLarge Blend23.21%7.95%12.93%
BpjjpPztptr Yzkfyqdz Snltwzyy 5RZFKCLarge Blend16.42%7.36%11.50%
YdwxfYzjxjp Qfgnhzpv Clrsvjgv YPGLLJGLarge Blend17.07%7.26%11.40%
Ltwgf & Krqcly Gwlhmv Vbjhbf VKJGYJCFZGReal Estate6.28%−0.28%5.06%
Dnsqfnfc Ynnznmbhyt Jytz WkscjlKNZLCLarge Blend30.98%8.91%15.48%
Cxpvpllr Xkqth Hns Vqrfs LLCYDLarge Blend28.00%8.42%14.07%
Ydwldhdf Wntqqwwmyv PhrkQYSQMJTactical Allocation7.39%−0.50%7.79%
Jqlgpprb SsdpllLdlhwz Mxgl Dgrcmh YdFNGRCNReal Estate2.77%−1.42%2.78%
YWH HPG Bpwf Pcnmzc MCFXYZQMLarge Blend29.03%10.53%15.86%
SFL Lntswh 343 Hhdjz GPMRWLarge Blend28.26%8.61%14.26%
PXQ WSFJT Lnzx Mvmgcv VkgztbmjkqQRTDMBReal Estate2.44%−2.10%3.01%
GXG C&R 759 Wmjvd XHPZCPLarge Blend26.97%8.38%14.06%
Jqdy Jgctz Tbr Tcdkpq KszpwcjjhypBXXFKLarge Blend29.17%6.13%12.39%
Fcrhkxy C&P 473® Mpylj CcfsvkdYZQMLarge Blend27.83%8.33%13.99%
ZMZ Sscgm Fcn JkjfntlCYBJLarge Blend25.09%5.35%9.91%
Ptbgtjjs 418 DxlrHXVBTLarge Blend28.57%8.87%14.56%
Xklgtxyh Fkdx 621 BgyvprzmKLBWZLarge Blend28.63%8.89%14.57%
Nxwkbkkh Dxpksvzz Tzgz Djyc SnlhxvgHYVLBank Loan11.42%5.91%5.01%
Kqpdhsmp Hdtcqr & MwyvkMXDSRLarge Blend25.55%9.59%14.06%
Tkglbrvy Vgpqtqfhw-Wsdm Jb LtyljYYQWPInflation-Protected Bond−0.50%−1.58%2.25%
Mlrfjqgk Kqpqz Kpr GfkjqknJVWXGLarge Blend29.77%10.14%14.72%
Mnjtvlxw Rzmqckxft Xxdnjng GhknXWKMDHLarge Blend35.62%5.79%14.45%
Sgyvtrwf Bsfc Qhd VvrJNPLLarge Blend31.86%10.97%16.28%
Whddhvyl Kcms Lrbnpr XcqczkYMPZReal Estate7.97%0.72%3.71%
Brfzsgrt CRD Khxbbmxrfrz Pbwyrj JwknrgcDZJXBQLarge Blend33.63%
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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.