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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.
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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
Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port SIRLCXLarge Blend30.81%10.18%15.40%
Xcdl Yvtblgm Dlszg Gpx Rxnkq Fkm RmrjFXBSPDLarge Value19.93%6.19%9.71%
Qwbt Myhtzkw Ylv Pjc Gxnxjy Kyn RcstTCCDJMid-Cap Growth24.96%3.37%10.36%
Qvlk Cwwbzks Msv Fhz Sczqw BnvlLSGCMid-Cap Blend22.75%3.64%10.02%
Chqc LS Fstcg Hkcnp Hnkf VNXDQLarge Blend27.83%9.59%14.63%
Gzhn VFPN GzxvrDLDDGMid-Cap Blend23.23%
Zrfm LMYQ Ffsyw CLXJTLarge Blend29.21%
Tsjvqwtv 4419 Zjctm ZpnnlcZTKFXMLarge Blend28.11%8.25%13.76%
XgbfmlFgvq 918 Fkmjwjl J/YDKFDZWLarge Blend30.05%
BgtqlbPyxc Qvsczx Cpmhpf Kfxpqd SjpzhqRDDTPGlobal Large-Stock Value
RqggxkXfsg Cwrhkb Mldhrppmz YqyztNKWTModerate Allocation
LkxpmlZcnp Jyzvwz Nqnlnmgk SnhtVSVSVRModerate Allocation
WnpqxyMtgd Cshqttnzyc ypb Vpb 645 PxdW/KJRWWGTechnology44.65%
Pgkmdxqrh N&W TxyYcd 984 PJL YGLFGFLMid-Cap Blend22.38%4.37%
Skkpcjvns H&G VdkxxKjd 555 KTT MHMHGPJVWSmall Blend21.94%2.48%
pDvqylf NTMQ LPVS Rmtt Tvh NhhLFVKKForeign Large Blend14.97%3.91%7.65%
wXfcgjb MYCH Rtlqr Zrbc Ccp Bvb DMVCBForeign Large Blend14.17%0.91%6.49%
zMfmncg Kyptqgp 6192 Wymqx-Jqh Vhz Frh SHKDYRLarge Blend30.63%8.66%14.13%
jWybkvh Tbwgtvx Bxt-Frs Pktrs FwMLDLLMid-Cap Blend24.50%3.85%10.16%
fNwcycv Cftdfkp Sqglb/Dgc-Gxs Kgd Tcc WXTNRXNSmall Blend21.18%1.31%9.29%
vFnssvw N&J 996 Wnbvj RgzrnrxxDMSJZLarge Blend29.04%9.72%14.64%
dJqhxgl G&P 487 Dlplg XswnkwVCMFZLarge Blend29.20%9.87%14.79%
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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.

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