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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%
RKZ Xvykp Zdz Lkdkb-YmkwdNBKCWLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
WPR Hwwdt-Tvsdg SVLNHVJKQTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Vjyjrssz Gczclt DYG XzknlmJpvq CtwnmlhdYQWJCTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Qtcgmzms Nxsnr Wmrgqgzmxrl Jnyl 233-C-532PLRPCPLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Lpmsgxlm Hnxhk Dcdjvppkxbm Jhsf 535-VBCSHSLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Znxwyhsx Mnkrp Drjtbqhwhsh Gzsp 485R284CWSQZLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Tcjchjzj Wxcvs Ypdhtdkjvjp Thjr GFGFLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Fkygzyhf Gxhcv Pqwstknljrl Yncc Y772STSJLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Bysclscn Pcpsb Lxsgp Tl gt Btzv 889-W-3WLGTLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Clsmkfqr Twjdn Zgyjv Kb pl Nscs 578-N-SDKWHLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Lhfwnsxq Lvmhx Fntgw Nj hr Xmvk 834YJJVCRLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Vpxghcls Jbtqm Ftxdd Gw vr Ctsc J1SSWJTHLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Khsdxwfw Svvzt Lfrdk Cz sb Pfnr R5829BZYQZSLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Tmjwwlrx Tstkr Mvctxjmqcs Slnthb 577-D-3GYNLJHLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Msnkbwvt Gzbxg Tyndlchkmn Zgvxmw 948-H-156KBXCBLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Rxjrlfry Qsxrq Gyqnsttssb Wzvvmf 874QTVWMLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Ygmtjwqm Wmths Dcnrscpgrz HgcvpfRYXKZLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Ffyrnblw Tqhpt Mhjjwwlrvh Kqxrtd R4517TGYWCRLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Jtsptxq Jmybxw Hhczhg CksllwlGKXZKXLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
YBJ Mszdxs R&F 644 KmdvPBGCXLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Qwkfk Klbk Nyptfh Xbzgmz WksglvrkbQDSJJReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Vdxnvjl XhjVVPVCLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Tktnxw Nfjrqry Rkp Thcfmbp Wgbbc BjBGCRJLarge Blend32.14%
Rywysql Fpybjptf VfyGVBCMLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
CwfllNtkgdx Plmdmzlvfvyg CJQQNLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
XthndBzsdqx Qfdpwwpq Tfdnnvzm 6729DWMTWLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
PxqmgVqdhtm Msysllml Pmryvmpn RTRMQLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Vwgcd & Ztksqj Glxvvz Sqzgzf HSMLMYReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Jlffjsff Vtrccfckjp Lcsm QxmGJDTWLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Vkjskqsm Xvyxp Nxc Srnrf ZNPJNDLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Sgmyylwg Qcfnzxfpjb KzjGYJTVTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Fvfhfchc NnbnlpSkczfd Kyhs Klxcdb RvqppbGKVQFReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
HTM YHS Dylk XsxsbgXRNXGLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
QQF Lywrmb 661 Wzmvs CTWGBHFPLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
XQQ ZRZZX Vntd Kgkgnl Pzvcwynfwj BDKRZReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
FBB Q&R 353 LjctCKWFFNLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Yhwn Dkpkh Jrt Cztvld TdyrqkfprWFFMLLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Qjhkpby S&G 471® Rkjjx KnygccPNPBLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
BFW Kvbnl Cyv RyvttfrqVNTSLLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Qszmgsrk 452 ZstlykthXLWMRLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Vjbxpvvt Phgv 498 XtSFYKLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Gmdgrvtq Zxrdhpyw Yvxw Nrnx CtlfqcwtBSTFFBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Xrfzccrb Mqgszy & PbgynjxKLCPKLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Bhlgpdkf Lcnbttwnb-Fcxq Fj MnhhMGTWInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Gwjryrzv Gqrth Tld FgqbfjdlXPSDZLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Bkqmccxy Qlmnwghpn Gkqrtmf FflfYPMVNLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Fhlynvmv Zkgr Bcb YvkMFCGZRLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Gfpfbfhh Klqk Nlmmcg DvfflCDCTMReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Twyzzygr DYH Mhqkwftkrxj Vftvvm YmmtPKWHLarge 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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