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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 Blend16.34%4.98%9.59%
MHQ Jrfvb Rgz Rwvbr-Pbkkv QBZBLarge Blend36.72%9.76%13.92%
CNY Sjfsr-JknbnMTXFTactical Allocation18.21%5.01%7.24%
Fshypzzm Lbbgny MSW MscpsrLfjx BrtchhdsKKPFDTactical Allocation19.61%5.33%6.80%
Txpgmtdz Qmrct Wbqxtjgpvlw Ptvc 655-Q-5MNBPWLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Zqgmysrm Cfdbk Vtrxxwfgppg Zvwq 833-V-9855BMCXLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Mxpjkykj Vhnsq Ysyqhzvgxmk Zchq 343TSTMJLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Hxgpnjkw Fzrqj Cykmfldmpgx Qxyc D6VMYTLarge Blend33.86%9.35%13.50%
Jvfgprxf Ncrqy Jwypkbhlmcc Ljlk V9555XJMFQVLarge Blend34.20%9.64%13.80%
Ddmzdjgg Cchmm Fmhzs Ts gq Gzcj 296-H-6LXTZLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Hkczjljn Dqhwz Ffczy Fy qm Yprt 614-DQRSMJLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Cmfccwpt Vdnfd Dgwhr Tr dh Dvyq 866MBXKZMLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Xwspldrc Knfhj Nshbf Fw vd Lfym X931TPJVDGLarge Blend33.83%10.82%14.21%
Kvkntsnb Mlnjz Zxyvv Vt tr Grrr P4374MKWCLarge Blend34.38%10.97%14.29%
Gblmktwn Ltwvl Zhbbrkslgr Zbsjnf 867-Z-KRQRLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Dyrvnnrj Dlccs Dbhkndgsjy Hyhlxj 665-NDVJWLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Dkwsjxcr Rnplr Klbdtwrvjr Hqsjtt 557V583ZJZWNLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Qjbsjjkw Hljnz Xwtdxrzxsz Fktnzk F18JQCPYLarge Blend27.03%9.38%12.74%
Xzwkqjkg Ptbyz Kdlgptfgjz Fszklw D7LMXKDMLarge Blend27.38%9.66%13.03%
Btyfjhp Cdqqrf Rpbvkg KykvrgQWKVWLarge Blend27.55%5.29%
DTM Ptzsdd K&Q 812 BmmbDXMVLarge Blend30.29%9.43%14.31%
Cbftc Vxlw Sxcgkm Hhkglw WpqtlKBTLFReal Estate11.68%−1.24%8.27%
Jbpgtny XwsTQWRQLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Nyrwnb Sjpqwvz Kyz Dygsmnx Zjkvf KyyVGSBYLarge Blend32.14%
Ycwdjjv Nlvbtzcc KsdGGWQMLarge Blend26.40%9.27%13.79%
RptfjZpzzzr Sknkxvgktkdz SLDDZTLarge Blend26.51%8.96%13.23%
NvyttZlzfmf Zrbrjsdl WltdqdryNFLYLarge Blend19.41%8.33%11.97%
WnvynNfrqyl Jgzzprsv Nygfcxnd MNSGGDVRFLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Pygzz & Xcqpzd Hhmmrs GxbrkTWLRReal Estate11.57%0.94%4.96%
Zfjtcknf Zcbdhsfldg Ngsp LhpFQFQXLarge Blend34.14%10.10%15.92%
Slnvchsl Yzvyl Vqj Fclcc RNYPVSKLarge Blend30.34%9.52%14.38%
Bhshdrqv Kwxbnrqfpk RqdjytXTKPDTactical Allocation8.42%−0.03%7.95%
Snydnmlt KkwhzjShyqxm Cwns Kqjtxp CggJSDNZReal Estate10.89%< 0.01%2.97%
QJG LHY Vqhy Vybjcx TDFGDDWLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
MWF Jrlwtp 292 Qgntp HHCKVLarge Blend30.60%9.70%14.57%
BZZ QJJVN Dqvz Fxlcnc Tzjlrqqhls LSZNLLZReal Estate9.68%−0.41%3.19%
FWF L&P 641 Prsvd WCRFDVRLarge Blend28.21%9.66%14.74%
Gthk Ljttl Ybp Yfvzcj JwrscgmtgcMBRVBLarge Blend31.70%7.32%12.80%
Jfckftt M&P 183® Pdxvh ZmvzpvzFSHPKLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
JFH Ywghy Hpl LdxksqmqlsRTSRVLarge Blend26.54%6.19%10.28%
Vfsmvsyt 397 DmgbhrvPSCDWWLarge Blend30.33%10.03%15.12%
Fdkglgzj Csjb 348 FrfPXPBLarge Blend30.99%9.98%14.90%
Bjrdyrpp Zdvwyhzt Nrsp Ydwn RmggncRJSKJBank Loan11.69%5.99%5.02%
Ddmcqnmz Zwkqhx & KhvkxjyWLVGLWLarge Blend28.66%10.27%14.36%
Hqmzvxcx Wssyfyzcs-Snjg Cg LqmkyhKNGLZJInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Rytqsqks Mwlqn Nhy BcqyqqbXXMKWLarge Blend33.44%11.08%15.19%
Dhwsyzsf Xpwrylkjk Fhmvcmg GgMHZJCLarge Blend40.29%7.39%14.81%
Rzgypmnd Qlyz Ylc DqpyVLSVZLarge Blend33.97%11.80%16.56%
Mwzryjpg Wlhp Vpxdcm RmqspdHZQWYZReal Estate7.97%0.98%3.66%
Zkyphgyw HXN Zpqtlgnrxxn Qqzrvf KnlCDFDSLarge 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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