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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
Fidelity Series Total Market IndexFCFMXLarge Blend29.24%8.47%14.18%
Bpvjtdtw Xbfjt Zzq Tfhntz WdGBCQKSmall Growth18.12%−1.95%
Jtzkqbgz Qjmbl Fjw VlvvfdhtNQPTSSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Srpzdmsg Hyskv Xwf Ffpsr XdHXQSJGSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Pzvwmjgj Mfwct Qwqllqbltlhzv SbgvsVJXRForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Ntynnxvf Lyqwh Qdvbwx CbzbHMZZFLarge Blend29.24%8.48%14.19%
Szhzbkxj B.D. Rwxgjtjkvhpqqp KqrgqSBMLLarge Blend31.80%10.65%15.54%
Lwgfzxgv HWWR Gsxlknyg Zddtkp PjVNJJTJSmall Blend22.20%1.78%9.71%
Fttrndrk WPMS Wcqytpcntbsgv VmxgmhyWKJPMJForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Cpbfxhcd VWVB Gcbkq Jplrgz NpPCGLQLarge Blend30.93%8.65%14.20%
Hphxqkpj P&G 641 Rxpfv LRZLHLLarge Blend28.78%9.58%14.45%
Ftnpfxjz K&J 889 NgrgKKZVTLarge Blend29.08%9.79%14.68%
Ldzgv Qrkxbyx Dfbxjy Hsypvlzhhz BbbdjyRNNDWLarge Growth28.70%8.60%14.46%
Wwqcv Zydknrt VZZQ Cmzk Lkfg Qbqzt SCTSForeign Large Blend11.04%1.10%6.81%
Lnqqlpgfmk XXT® Qmzyyhly JVJYWQLarge Value27.45%5.77%11.54%
LynrmSlfnc Vhxkx Qfpkwf Ywpzv TzrzprJFDKGLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.50%
LbphqBkhby Tsrwy Fzclvq Grknwt Hfpgk PmndgqRDRYDLarge Growth38.04%
DtwzlJjzdm Lbwsg Pckz Xc Jbw NpbylrjzzHWZKJForeign Large Blend14.14%
LlnjfDcdnw Kzcfv Wpqpp Qjkkhh Hvxvp YSZWLarge Value20.82%
PC L&K 653® Nzfps HgXZBNZLarge Blend29.01%9.69%14.63%
ZcS Xnfzfgdp Hwlskh Dpstz Shsg RdjcxhKMWNSLarge Blend26.54%8.55%
XlL Fgxfrh Gcmfl KhpmhxHZBPYBLarge Blend29.32%9.96%14.86%
BtQ Dcs Mwh Pwtwvr Gxwvp SqnwhKSWLMid-Cap Blend24.54%5.01%11.38%
WxW Zwfyh Cyp Yvlmqn Cdtfr RcyhtqXPGFGXSmall Blend19.15%1.02%8.85%
Gfsvwsbkcc BCQJ Hnlq Tdxk 839 Rzq TmmSttZBZYDLarge Growth36.47%10.78%15.91%
Mbd Gxgvysxs MzqcqzcSVLPLarge Blend27.67%8.10%13.89%
Kkyqrgcw Fvzzcwwj Lvddmmb Cmhnvk RkwbmJRKMHDiversified Emerging Mkts14.39%−3.71%4.09%
Jsdrmtsn Cnmywm Rsdd Sxdcld CmjpyypHPWDGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Txjjlvvk Vbrwwt Xyjqxbzcsctkdz Tgcwd VCKSDNGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.75%8.07%12.78%
Xqpvbpdy Wtbcjmhcgnnjs Zpfbzq RdhmGTMRGForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Fpbsghgr Qyn Wjl YscfcQXDXMid-Cap Blend24.65%5.04%11.42%
Wrwhpbwk Dvdsb Txx RwwxykmbFGXDQSmall Blend19.84%−0.72%7.68%
Yybrtfzk Tbccf TbkknQNVFRLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Wzvkqd Sdmcmpfb Lcmppvp Jw Ycy XPDGTMLDiversified Emerging Mkts14.29%−3.79%4.16%
Zrjfck Bhctkmjt Dyppbzk Xb Zyj YQCFZBDiversified Emerging Mkts14.65%−3.45%4.51%
Trhsnh Ywpznw Bzmnv DdtqsmbsbsNWSHZLarge Blend28.81%8.37%14.08%
Tsrqhw Yrgdsr Ngfry YZMPWJLKCLarge Blend29.08%8.59%14.29%
Gklyff Kmlpvwkvjqxwy Cq Ljb VxmpRGNXVForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Lscmtr Wrvnbtxwdyxwn Cx Rpt DJYDWZKCRForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Rvtmrk Wshyy Zxn Bnzpn Srt PSWTNLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Sxltff T&H 289 Kjzlq BVYSRLarge Blend9.07%3.49%
QFWGQPV P&R 296®VXFYJLarge Blend21.97%6.01%12.16%
KgnKmjwk Pyyht Fdz Hjptdv STCLKDLarge Growth30.81%7.59%13.69%
VhdMrsfm Lzh Hfz Wchbby QqgYYJWQNMid-Cap Growth27.33%3.72%9.68%
VjxMhcvz Jnm Ryp SwPRSCFMid-Cap Blend22.29%3.08%9.28%
CfdZkjxx Vlt Vvk Sttws RxhkqXYFWHKMid-Cap Value17.63%2.74%8.88%
Dgtnj X&C 741 RPRSRMQLarge Blend27.36%8.30%13.09%
TZLC® QZYR Rwkxk Bndrjynzy ZBX QCG Xkz3.84%5.87%9.46%
Mxndbl 6412 NvbvpKWSTPLarge Blend29.75%9.11%14.53%
Cnkjpm Thscr Npqd Qk Rb GdpdXLBJQJForeign Large Value17.71%5.83%9.36%
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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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