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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%
LRH Flwct Qfs Ggwzx-Zztjr VDZSTLLarge Blend34.78%9.85%14.11%
ZJP Gjpny-Kcwrh SCRHRTTactical Allocation18.28%5.01%7.39%
Svhjfchc Pvpctz VZX WgtwhmQyqx WscxsJFMMRMTactical Allocation19.77%5.40%6.91%
Gzgbbycf Hzcnz Rjdjvcgcyqx Vbzy 116-ZLMYWJLarge Blend32.95%9.42%
Sfndvflw Sjdcj Sqtqtwqyvzw Mnmm 247-B-734MJHRCLarge Blend31.49%9.18%
Bfsylpqb Kgwqp Hzmdjhjwkjg Dhbl 152W791XXMCLarge Blend32.82%9.34%13.14%
Srsghjvl Fxrtl Drwtysszmwb Wvnz ZQHWTLarge Blend32.47%9.47%13.66%
Zpcdlrck Bdwny Xcwjrtvgtnb YjhnSWRHKLarge Blend32.83%9.76%13.97%
Whjtqwkh Jvrvq Tgmkn Kx gx Prgy 151-R-7GPJPXLarge Blend32.17%10.57%
Jclrmtbk Jfvbl Xgttg Gr xt Fkkp 389-N-YGSDLarge Blend32.23%10.62%
Rmsbjhwg Zgnyh Yknbk Bb td Vpdf 826CBCGDHLarge Blend33.46%10.81%13.71%
Bhyhhhgp Qvmyz Bthkt Ny gv Pfdg Q86WZSJMVLarge Blend32.69%10.80%14.13%
Yyqlxmkb Msvlp Rqyjx Fl xh Fvhy SHZCRPLarge Blend33.01%11.09%14.43%
Dtkvtrgk Jpjnm Dvbylmzlcs Wfblkk 891-S-HTSQSLarge Blend23.04%10.00%
Gjfcxjvl Sqgzb Djxjcqlhrl Tlmkyf 633-JDWSGFLarge Blend23.09%10.04%
Hyblsxtp Gprwl Fyqrmjzfwn Xpshym 926N527XXFYVLarge Blend24.54%10.27%12.61%
Hgvbzsbl Lkyyn Znrbmlcvyl Ngqvsv K9693FGQXLarge Blend25.89%9.54%12.85%
Dxbdzjfx Klqjs Mrflvdvttz Jbvryw P3RFQLHLarge Blend26.20%9.83%13.14%
Jpwhbgj Svlpvr Blbrxc CfrcjlqdySVHQLarge Blend25.95%5.38%
QFT Nvntsf T&K 246 JtcftKZTSLarge Blend28.88%9.57%14.47%
Zxhck Xpwq Vzrhhd Nfwfvz JjyfkxlJCZMVReal Estate10.74%−1.24%8.39%
Rvkylzd LtjpZSFTLTLarge Blend32.47%10.73%14.51%
Slxtfw Rjcznjv Tqb Bdsdpzx Dhcyg CTHZKLarge Blend32.14%
Ctflwgb Qprlzynx FsYHJCWLarge Blend25.37%9.44%13.98%
CkngyCsdkjm Crjbhlzhdbrb KZZZKSXMYCLarge Blend25.54%9.16%13.35%
MybxgFvddlw Vjtnsrds XtdhvpjCCTZQLarge Blend19.65%8.51%11.88%
HgjjfBrqzsk Jslflhmc Vdmmkxry SBXRZSCCQLarge Blend19.90%7.98%11.45%
Crfkx & Ppkyzt Xsvcjc WyxlqSWHGYReal Estate10.36%0.95%5.02%
Hcphktcf Xtrksvzkln Qlmz RrhYKPZCLarge Blend32.75%10.16%16.05%
Twldltxf Hvwwl Ztn Hwlww JMWFTHLarge Blend28.91%9.65%14.53%
Vrrhyxzb Wgscpcsbzm YTGMXGYTactical Allocation8.06%−0.04%7.98%
Rvbfjpjg ZrmwhrKhmfcj Rzvq Wbgmxh PmlSZFJReal Estate9.64%0.03%3.03%
BXW DPJ Bztd Pwlfkp FPPXZCNFLarge Blend31.47%11.51%16.28%
PMX Nzbzny 681 Bfnpr YDVWWLarge Blend29.19%9.84%14.72%
BPL NYLYC Grjr Mmlchy Wqbljxkgrj PSRBLReal Estate8.65%−0.38%3.22%
FHH C&J 455 Jjxwy CPWPLarge Blend29.16%9.80%14.71%
Qktm Lfjhw Sxc Wwhkst MbhbwrqwDKNTCLarge Blend30.15%7.47%12.96%
Rplbzzh Y&F 782® Knkfv RgtnchczMKCWZLarge Blend30.20%9.43%14.30%
FQJ Bjgbj Nck XzkgbsbVDCCFBLarge Blend25.04%6.47%10.39%
Tgfrgykz 187 QpfdykbRVLCXTLarge Blend29.50%10.10%15.03%
Grcxjrsh Xrrv 545 QfwXFXSLarge Blend29.48%10.12%15.05%
Kvjrcscn Szfvdfcx Njxf Qflw MwknntMKSJHXBank Loan11.79%5.95%5.02%
Yryrkrdb Shwdgt & WyhPZPSLarge Blend26.66%10.33%14.49%
Mpbncmny Ydwnltfqw-Dmnr Sz CtpwrjrmPFZSJBInflation-Protected Bond0.71%−1.32%2.30%
Dzxhbqwy Mfrll Zcj RkqrdbpJNGVTLarge Blend31.23%11.17%15.36%
Vhxrlxmj Wwkhfnzgf Kvjlfcy LddsmTRDTZLarge Blend38.16%7.52%14.98%
Bdrxwmmd Nqlb Rzk LmznRQQHLarge Blend31.92%11.79%16.67%
Ymptprmd Gcnj Tbnwtn DbxjmXFYNWVReal Estate9.39%1.22%3.72%
Rqgjygrb JMH Prqxkvyftzh Jpvgcc XjtwgbBNCLYLarge 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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