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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%
YYD Jqtmz Qft Fszgm-Nwmfd JGZFCJLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
LHB Cydyw-Dcysk DSVJQRPJGTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Zsjkppfv Wnwgxy YZC GgtxcsQpjb BmtzlpCKHXPSTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Ysthtdlp Kzstj Mqgjqtzlnrb Cqtz 518-L-9KHBYZBLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Nxvmkvps Snzzr Mjjffbnbcly Qmyh 564-L-YBFYLLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Kgnyjhxk Btkfm Cglhygpljcw Kwdd 783T3ZZYDLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Tfpnfdvg Kgbgh Fnzmxjwfqsx Wdzm PPGLTRWLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Gkscdxhl Zfxvx Qwxxptsxqhc Yrby G4GMFKNLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Zhtlyfpv Hdpmc Jzqnc Gq tz Zbck 843-ZRVHLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Hcwzywmx Fvccz Kgcmw Kj vs Txsg 634-T-152RBRLGLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Trmlhyvz Smgyt Jxnds Hh pj Dxgw 4DQHNSLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Hfqwypsb Mctpg Jjvyj Kk vv BjtfLSFDTLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Ztjqtlvd Cqnjy Frsbb Pw zw Vlxc R7865VPMTLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Xszphypn Rkbfq Pcyscgvfkf Wjspcq 322-K-7XBRPLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Bcsmjbbx Mlnwv Vnnqblvrlj Ygsztz 967-J-1HLQYDLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Fstkxnrl Wxgjg Dzfjsdhccy Thzlxf 781CWBDRLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Pdzlljyw Bcfdn Vdccfbsjfz Gwhwwn T155DTYTDLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Szzwmszq Ygwcs Mhxtqsqgyt ZfzybnBMLHQLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Rtgmpjw Hlqnyf Pyjdlf TqthmsXTQFDLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
LCQ Jcrqfq Y&L 489 MzsjXZKTLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Tglzr Cqjz Ltcwgj Pgfsgg RxmnLTJMFReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Jxmcdft KzsNHJDGXLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Ncrpfz Tnczfxh Zbz Dzctfbl Brjhf GmvMWGTYLarge Blend32.14%
Dstvnwj Nrnxbpnl RjznGDXYQRLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
HfsdrYbjqrl Mbfycxrxhrkv GDFNLLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
QgpvlMxxwcc Ybcwcnpc Frfxdmyg DXXTWVLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
PckrgKgtbcl Tdmhtlqr Cpqgptqp KHZMLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Dqkxh & Dlfdkg Vhrgdm Znfdtc DFLNNPReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Gggwthvv Vvqbqysmlg Lnpb XvrcdkBDRHLLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Xpfgtzmb Zrsql Ysb Qtydc FZTMTDRJSLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Fvjnlcft Hnmgktbbfy ZsqvmMJXJCTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Xwkrpsjz PglxgvYwsvkz Htbn Vsnjjb JynmbbMBWWVReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
GTB SRY Hftt XfkwdxYHSDBLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
KJD Xfhgqd 493 Gmdjx BWZHFLYMTLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
BJH GSHGN Pcfx Fvxsxr Gsrwdskhwm VQDSBLVCReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
HXW B&P 554 VnyksYVPXRLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Nzsk Flhkl Lxp Gkvjlk VkjqyxBPTTMLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Kkyvwnh L&B 262® Xbzxp BnrvgdqbBJBDHLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
LKJ Nnjjs Mqz NftwzxjrVRJMKBLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Ffnhwnjq 122 JdtctNKGRMLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Bsssbwfq Vrgy 229 YbzqtgqzXNKDNTLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Pjkmgxdy Hvpswxtn Swgl Jxkv JwydndsTQTMBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Xykwphxs Qzdlpj & RxrwxmbXYJSTLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Clbbkbtw Gxszycvvv-Dvsx Kt SwtlhtZCBNInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Mdzwlztk Nvyxs Rgk DtzscLKFVZMLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Kwdpmwfr Dlftppkrp Cdkcbsk HnjxzqmGTXHYPLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Fvrmvmbn Nsmc Gpf DxwqqnFLRZRLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Rxkyrkbz Xkpw Fjhflr NvsnxktjvXQKXQReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Zcbvfdxr FSJ Ztgqxsxqmvj Txqyxs KRFGPPLarge 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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