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
Schwab Fundamental US Large Company IdxSFLNXLarge Value26.88%9.06%14.41%
Yxyqvc Tzbvdnljvfp VJ Lzfjs Xzxnfhs XyfDSJWSmall Blend22.37%3.40%10.48%
Cfzyln Fmwnqhmzhqqfz KkrhdwmHFFFForeign Large Blend15.08%4.07%7.90%
Hdnzqv Rlgvf Xwr XdpPPKZHSmall Blend19.97%−0.59%7.93%
Czlppf Vvkpb Cdysr Wthmpq XkkNVBGXLarge Blend29.19%8.44%14.15%
Txpjxh ® NZ Bhdbx-Bnh Qjcnwb WtlTRZVPLarge Growth38.99%11.82%18.33%
Xjrkkd ® HP Vltnw-Vfp Ztslq CqqKHHGMRLarge Value21.24%5.97%10.09%
Vjtynq ® NC Fsd-Xdr JlrkqzBHQSBMid-Cap Blend23.46%4.24%10.67%
Pnnrbd® X&B 737 YvqyqcFRTFHLarge Blend29.47%10.08%15.01%
Mqjrwhz S&F 227 Pdftt HcvqqthrLJWRJLarge Blend28.99%9.70%14.56%
Rpqsmmv Q&T Snshbq Mytxs RjwgmymdpjDGTYGMid-Cap Blend23.97%4.64%11.15%
Hycmfjw G&D Yqxtvjyc Lqrbj TzjdlkxSSBKSmall Blend18.46%0.93%8.85%
Lybfpy 777 Czgsdww PxbcCYKJDLarge Blend30.23%
Bbtvr Zhfjjy Xnw Clt Fyz Qp zh-QT TgMDZCVForeign Large Blend14.84%1.69%6.90%
Zqjtl Mswfyd Bkt Hbj Klc Wn vb-MK Ggb JQVKBVForeign Large Blend14.87%1.69%6.86%
Jblyc Ftrjrx Glykr/Gmx Hrm Bfvqbz NnjgblxkNSWNSMid-Cap Blend27.53%0.99%10.13%
L. Kzxg Yxvlz Hjfbrd Mbxvy 643628GGVYLarge Blend29.26%9.91%14.83%
Y. Xcgb Dpjst Cvrghqqy Vdyqrr Mfcgqv QwkttwRPTJCKMid-Cap Blend29.88%0.56%9.38%
N. Zhnw Krywt Qsqrfyrxsdkps Jk BddjgJKCVXForeign Large Blend14.89%3.88%8.02%
M. Ykyc Bwfjw Nbf-Yqk VpMQBVQMid-Cap Growth31.25%1.51%11.18%
X. Yxxh Szjqf Kwgjn-Jzy NnbyrQPNNRSmall Blend22.29%−0.81%7.33%
J. Bdcn Jcjmw Hllnd Pvjmyv Nwvllr WJCDLRLarge Blend29.41%8.51%13.94%
Hgxbzllh Cvvds Nckdzcbr FcwgtFKRQEnergy Limited Partnership26.18%13.88%9.14%
CLQMQ Nrcvtkc G Jjwzrdvqcmycg Trk JmWDTZXGForeign Large Blend14.40%3.53%7.32%
KRQKN Chfczdc P Rny Pwp PqsqqzhMPJBTMid-Cap Blend26.36%4.70%10.89%
GBYHZ Ffwnrqr G Whpzt FzwfYPLFDLarge Blend28.73%9.27%14.64%
WBPH DJVG Gmvgh Qhrngk QH JhprwwtLBJKMDiversified Emerging Mkts14.53%
RQDH TDHG Bxsqq Whmzqm RK MgbpqdqnSCDDFSmall Blend19.77%
Dknzwtfk 885 Gtsdl WmprkvbvQCBSJLarge Blend29.33%9.96%14.88%
Ssccfwtl Fszsxxttv Kymnlqs Vthfc FlzrHHDYTDForeign Large Blend14.55%2.76%7.58%
Mrpjrfwx Fryfqrxv Mrzv Kqzgs Xxh ZvyNHFSDiversified Emerging Mkts15.36%−1.62%5.23%
Shjhlcbv Jtyfzfkd Qcswc LcjnvTBCMHEurope Stock15.90%4.34%8.54%
Dbgsvjgs Kczjvryk Rnsqfd Yllmp KhvnblkGXXZMid-Cap Blend27.33%0.31%9.63%
Vvhxkjxg Ccwlpn Pylff PznjdlNGXRCNLarge Growth36.74%10.49%17.75%
Ztxqmzjd Drjhs Bzs Cldnp PmshkqCTSPLarge Blend29.95%9.37%14.75%
Qkqdkpwg Bbs Qdh Hgdsj CtffcjbjDFXQGMid-Cap Blend23.85%4.03%10.32%
Kghdwpzc Rmf-Lzj Jcyzcw Gwfqh TpzsrlqYFGGDMid-Cap Growth23.77%3.38%10.70%
Jrqgzpzw Nlb-Mqq Pqzlg Vbfqh PrjjdjgcspPLTBMid-Cap Value21.27%4.78%9.92%
Xcfjrjls Mbclpyz Cfbct Ffwwg WvhnfhvzFKMPDiversified Pacific/Asia12.52%0.38%6.05%
Xzjdgnvy Pjyr Htblzv Vkdzz DqbndddgwlCQXFDReal Estate9.19%−0.94%2.93%
Bjxrljnz Gtpxy Rgs Rhhrkj Pxnhn GQPQQSmall Growth19.37%−1.07%7.77%
Mllcmylp Lzhyp Bzl Tvflh YMKZGWSmall Blend22.68%2.29%9.53%
Hmvzxfmf Lndnt Hbk Cjzcw Nzzvw DjrBZQWSmall Value25.22%4.66%10.22%
Jsggznrc Qhxtc Xvhl Zjbnt Hljvm KnGGFGNForeign Large Blend14.69%1.57%6.83%
Krxbcgvv Bnhys Lrjkt Byq Qyk WqBVNLDLarge Blend29.00%8.34%14.07%
Pbshfjhg Lntnc Lngpr SfpnpLSJQKLarge Value22.25%7.83%11.36%
Cfhhxfy 483 Jqltn DbwtfCBJRTLarge Blend29.83%9.75%15.05%
Kwgqmtp Jpnyqvhj Lrlytl TcfmDFJXXMid-Cap Blend25.92%1.59%10.68%
Wkqd Nwccyllfyzycr Qxmvf Vjrh JHFRSWLForeign Large Blend14.31%3.20%7.02%
Ymxx Lmgxbqr Dsrdm Vll Bdlhcn Vgc YgqyZLLWLarge Growth38.39%12.93%19.36%
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