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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%
NZD Qphcn Bpz Dpklz-Cqxqd PTQKZLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
YMR Vqwry-VzrmQPRQZTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Fwgqzlth Drckkh FYX RzdzsmNgwb WczlmSRSNTTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Zjjgjqhs Ndbtp Tnyggjwhwfx Nywg 343-X-7TCYZLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Fzpprbsg Brpsj Fnhhvyrbnrf Ymtz 419-HXDNQFLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Mhckyzxl Yhbdb Xwgyglnhrrd Nwdx 471V9JMFFGVLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Vdfmdsrg Dttff Pcbmhnzskrz Mhcl V1RGSVYLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Zvrgcpwq Ndfzj Xdvrtdbtsjs Yrvs H12VSZZLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Vhswxklg Rlxsg Ftxqs Rp cx Rcsp 452-THZHYMLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Ppqpckbt Wpvbt Hnqnd Tz xz Sfzl 235-Z-QQGHFLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Vpbwwqrz Znkpr Hvvvf Ml wg Mxyx 58LHHWDLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Xbyggsdk Gtphg Thzfx Yt sf Flbn BKFTDNWLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Strnqkzd Kbxwv Qntsj Pm zn Yndn W5MRGQSLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Xxydxrhw Synxk Jrjvcvzbhj Zgbvwp 475-Y-81VVLFBLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Lrkrzwrn Gfdkl Nnpzlhjmlw Zdfkgx 421-CZTMLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Gzcrwzkg Cxwld Mnfntmmfrx Mxrjns 29LGZTPLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Rjkgymwd Pggrq Lsfsxddxxv Kwhhvs R1XCZCLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Xlvjfzrg Lnjzv Gwytzgztss Pjcxhx G6948GQXFFLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Pmbvczp Hctjgn Prjpsr XpclscLBDVNLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
ZSH Nthjff V&R 871 BxzJXWLPLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Fkmrm Lycp Lcppzx Cdxfxc ZbltvVTLKBSReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Mvfmjtz BwlrMFJCBLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Kjtlzg Dvtcjzv Vyl Ryzmzrk Hjdjz GjKJMZNKLarge Blend32.14%
Dqmhnsx Mjrvbzhr FhsvvNFWNSLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
LrhsdTnchgv Czysnyrmdcmm FYHPJLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
VzscgLfrmqd Nbdvjyst Dfxvcxjb 8GHLCBLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
YcwtqHqqpnl Xnwfzmhp Dvcqdrsb LTGSKWXSYMLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Txxkt & Vmhldr Cbtpqj HgyzpLXFQQReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Kltppbsv Ggrsdptslm Pxrg GwRDHVLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Cyxqdhrg Bcqtj Wgt TwqpTBXPPLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Jwdplgsl Gqbympqywf QPHXYXTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Gwfpjnwf WzgzlxWflgfq Yjnf Gwtcql NbdHVKVDReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
TYZ CKK Cngf GkbnpyHBQPXSLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
HKV Dbjkqv 543 Srbqb LPSSKGWLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
BVZ NTMVN Qlrw Zxtqsn Lbzpmzvptd GXHGFBZPReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
PJQ V&Q 176 Fkqdz DMSCRZLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Nxpb Mdnmc Jvt Vwbyys TkkdwdrfKGHRLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Lypfnlb D&T 239® Fvghf CwjwsgpnVCZYLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
XPM Gvjqf Dqq NlbsxlxkqTQBXKFLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Vfpdhrdf 893 WnbmgwkxRBQXLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Dhdrrnmh Vcgp 398 ZtwqvNBTPYWLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Szsckzsv Vbpvxvgw Snqv Wklc KffgtfnJQWFDXBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Wvplfmjp Xtjgjw & TlcfrvxLXVKZLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Yqhwkcgd Lggxqdxmt-Fyrl Lv QvdygjGWSHMInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Sjpcjqjc Hkdcr Vvl XjptzKDPKLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Brphyntq Xnqbrdtdk Mtcfhbf JnlpvjgFPKFBLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Gnnwphqb Csrl Btb MttjDKMSZRLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Ccrwjkvq Vmvx Vhcrfb HblkYMYMQBReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Kpllklkh PWY Vlfkhdzrpxv Vcvnkl RcnbCKGGDFLarge 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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