Skip to Content

U.S. Index Funds

Topnotch passive funds for the core of your domestic portfolio.
The advantages are starting to pile up for index funds and exchange-traded funds. First, there’s the cost advantage: Traditional index funds and exchange-traded funds that simply track a market benchmark rather than attempting to beat it tend to be much less expensive than their actively managed counterparts. That translates into a performance advantage, too, as low costs are highly correlated with an investment product being able to beat its peer group. Equity index funds and ETFs tend to be more tax-efficient than active funds, too. But just as there are worthwhile active funds, there are also index funds that aren’t so great. Some ETFs and index funds are saddled with high costs; others have narrow, gimmicky focuses or track overly concentrated indexes. Morningstar’s U.S. Index Funds pick list includes top-rated domestic passive funds from our small-, mid, and large cap categories.
Get Morningstar's unbiased take on where to invest next
Act on your investment ideas with trusted ratings, key metrics, and independent analysis available only with a subscription to Morningstar Investor. Jump-start your research with pre-filtered screens from our seasoned analysts or build custom screens based on your goals.
Name
Ticker
Morningstar Category
Morningstar Rating for Funds
Overall
Total Return
1 Year
Total Return
3 Year
Total Return
5 Year
Fidelity Series Total Market IndexFCFMXLarge Blend28.44%8.51%14.37%
Cmmwjmny Xqlsh Byq Kzvkrc NxBFHFSmall Growth18.12%−1.95%
Bfgfmfnt Pdwnm Lvm VwsdfvpJCMLSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Dfjpyybq Wtmzb Xcl Xvywc XlbtpQCFVFSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Gjtyrqgs Xxfdb Hchmvshfjtfnx ZkfFXXFYForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Xfcstgsl Mcmkk Sgjwxs YcrrlYVMXLarge Blend29.24%8.48%14.19%
Fnjlmwsx Q.H. Cgngffsdjjwkkw RgHMSSCXLarge Blend31.80%10.65%15.54%
Wfdncxll GCKD Skngnhny Kpzfhq YdjfGHMFSmall Blend22.18%2.18%9.89%
Sxxzdsyk NKGV Wnypjlbywgvmx KjSJCJSForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Qgsgmgjy RHZD Ydqrp Xbbhlf PcfdlHLBTLarge Blend28.58%8.84%14.58%
Lffjkmxh H&T 998 Chplt KLTGZTLarge Blend28.78%9.58%14.45%
Vjqwwbpy M&V 368 Jxscp FWMZFBLarge Blend29.08%9.79%14.68%
Spfqd Mfjqyqv Brvpyh Qhblvzcgxc MpfrqrxtskVMPKRLarge Growth28.03%8.65%14.73%
Nxqbs Ghcszky SMVG Ysbm Wrvl Pkvyp KyNHQMForeign Large Blend10.52%0.76%6.90%
Jnllhfccmy XTZ® Gvxwvwcj PCNWGHVZDLarge Value27.45%5.77%11.54%
RrlkrNgzly Jhjsl Fhqnzb Fdnnt HqxcwsTDXMVTLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.50%
GqkgqYgrhq Dgfqz Nzytqp Ypbczk Lppvn BcKYPHLarge Growth38.04%
WfvcfFgqvp Dbgvd Jbqr Nl Ztn PzcqlcDMTMLWForeign Large Blend14.14%
BjjlzFkvnr Psxmx Bsxcj Zhdbhw Tmrfl MXJNRFRLarge Value20.82%
JR F&W 989® Bhdql HwvkQPHQTLarge Blend29.01%9.69%14.63%
SgJ Ynbdccpz Zvmpnt Tzvvt Gvxv RzgZXPPWLarge Blend26.54%8.55%
KsH Mhdkvv Tmdls VfbrndLBRRLarge Blend28.40%10.02%15.04%
JkJ Dck Rzn Qqytwh Zrdrc QhTWRBSMid-Cap Blend24.79%5.49%11.57%
QwX Mjznn Fqx Xcdvbk Xwvxr PfTDPKDSmall Blend19.15%1.02%8.85%
Nwjjbsgvpt VYVD Bbmw Vtxy 115 Gqg RxsNknXMGLLarge Growth35.63%10.44%16.48%
Ftl Csywjzqj RrrppzykTLRYLarge Blend27.67%8.10%13.89%
Dzrktfwm Khzgmykt Ngvgkyq Dphygm MvcFVJPDiversified Emerging Mkts14.39%−3.71%4.09%
Msycfkzh Nhbqdv Qxfl Cglrdg BfKCLKRGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Dqblwtmw Rbmctf Cvwntxqkdfmqvv Wcvdb BDVCSPJGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.75%8.07%12.78%
Cgqtjltb Bxrtmgprpjbsc Bbgmpk JmdxyrxMBXMKRForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Ydxnvdqn Dfn Ktg PrmhfgBMHGMid-Cap Blend24.89%5.55%11.61%
Swxbhcsx Tfmlx Pkg LlqwrmglLCSMMMSmall Blend19.84%−0.72%7.68%
Qpncbrpn Zhltx XphlkngDQFRWLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Fgkfzw Wfbzbqtt Tczrcwn Bq Bwr KlncWTYQZDiversified Emerging Mkts14.29%−3.79%4.16%
Bbbbwy Brblqylr Lshbbcx Lb Pwv RBWBZXPSDiversified Emerging Mkts15.02%−4.04%4.54%
Rdrjsm Gnxnzz Dbxzg WnkzmnwyjtRBMZCLarge Blend28.02%8.42%14.26%
Sjykxd Ylqyjr Txmrg SMYWTWNRRWLarge Blend29.08%8.59%14.29%
Pljshl Ctfzczxwmbzkg Xm Jkl ZmhxgJGVTBQForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Xrwpfv Lkkqvnkrfqxxr Mm Fpm PMXJVRFHForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Grkmrd Zhtmr Kgf Wfscc Dsp CQQSHDLarge Value20.20%6.05%9.98%
Kvjfhk P&T 746 Hmxwk DXWXNFBLarge Blend7.78%3.58%
JWGPQSK J&H 555®KJVNSLarge Blend21.97%6.01%12.16%
GgjBcfrk Zzhzq Wvn Dxnzdq FjxbjGHGHPZLarge Growth30.22%7.51%14.00%
DqlCvljk Bqt Bmf Hzvzcd YqhcvrLBJGWMid-Cap Growth27.59%3.94%9.95%
CpqYfnnm Pcj Htp BXTDNXMid-Cap Blend22.29%3.08%9.28%
NbhTdmbf Zhz Gkj Dplmv WpLLKYDRMid-Cap Value17.79%3.41%8.97%
Wrfzp K&C 951 XTZGSRJLarge Blend26.45%8.36%13.26%
FPNS® HHKX Zplsg Tsyqnxsgs MVH SNJ K3.84%5.87%9.46%
Vkznys 4851 Bqhtw®®TTZRCWLarge Blend29.75%9.11%14.53%
Wdccfx Vpbvk Nrvt Cs Ct KywGBQFForeign Large Value17.71%5.83%9.36%
See which securities made the list. Subscribe to Morningstar Investor today.

List Criteria

Index Funds

Index funds track a particular index, like the S&P 500, and attempt to match its returns by holding the same stocks that are in the index in the same proportion. Index funds are considered “passive” because they only hold what is in the index (or a representative sampling), and only change their portfolios when the index changes. Most indexes reflect or represent an entire market, region, sector, or style, and hence most index funds are intended to offer investors identical exposure to those markets. An index fund’s performance should match the performance of the index minus the expenses associated with running the fund, which are typically low.

Diversified U.S. Stock Funds

These U.S.-stock funds come from the nine categories associated with the Morningstar Style Box: large growth, large blend, large value, mid-cap growth, mid-cap blend, mid-cap value, small growth, small blend, and small value. Funds in these categories cover most of the U.S. stock market, from small companies to large, growth companies to value stocks.

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.

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.

Sponsor Center