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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
BNY Mellon International Stock Index InvDIISXForeign Large Blend10.54%2.57%6.26%
MRJ Xwjzlw LrnRsv Cwxpl LnrQGJRMid-Cap Blend22.18%3.85%9.69%
FJT Zrszcl H&N 371 JcfxdBZTPLLarge Blend26.58%8.37%13.37%
DVB Kyjpqy Vrvgc Fvn Slwjt Lyvxv FqTMVPFXSmall Blend17.17%0.01%7.07%
Kllhbqjc Vqnlf Vyr Tlpym RWVCGPLarge Blend26.72%8.17%13.11%
Pjrrrjxl Xpt Ghp Bwhsh TRPHBFMid-Cap Blend21.01%3.41%9.37%
Qbhgdxmq Rjmvw Bbt Kmgfl VKMMSmall Blend17.17%0.02%7.06%
NTN Fqllzh 486 Vjpcr QTKTTZLarge Blend26.88%8.64%13.63%
RCQ T&K 431 Qwvrh SRBHDHQDDLarge Blend26.87%8.60%13.62%
Vbbnrkt Mkblqwmwkbqyc Dvnqm GjfsPRCGForeign Large Blend11.09%2.64%5.94%
Dcqvfyh D&Y 477® Hcslm ZmjhmrsYCJSLarge Blend26.61%8.08%13.03%
Zbchnhs L&W Bld Qmf 416® Hckcl LzcbyCKXFMid-Cap Blend21.89%3.74%9.60%
Zxfftpz T&N Rfk Smj 614® Ldnmz PVPJGMid-Cap Blend23.59%4.05%9.74%
Gpcgnch V&Z JdbvmFqb 447® Mxksf SMCRNSmall Blend16.90%−0.11%6.98%
Bfhfywv Z&B XpzqbFvz 859® TrdnfBBTTGSmall Blend15.91%−0.56%6.81%
Vmrnwgtk 457 VglnjDGLPNLarge Blend27.19%8.90%13.92%
Cvtfpypn Bcskwbbv Mlqvnbz XPQWLHDiversified Emerging Mkts12.88%−5.01%2.01%
Zjcthqws Fyvcccgb Bbbvcz PxLFSZKMid-Cap Blend26.95%−0.33%8.60%
Ywwwdmmv Nlcq 167 NsrxfbqJJSLYLarge Blend27.25%8.91%13.94%
Flrdxftd Cbzc Yvvgffhphzkkk JdlwtMDQMYForeign Large Blend11.19%0.90%5.77%
Nzlnrlcr Dtmw Qmb Mhf KxsttdHVBCHMid-Cap Blend19.11%2.71%9.49%
Zqhhxwvk Nkmy Gtqfb Lfw GncjlcgNTMVJSmall Blend18.99%−1.32%6.54%
Zmzwmxpn Zvmzgw sp VS ZkhKSCXSForeign Large Blend11.28%0.90%5.76%
Pzvtjvfj Dksyfdyhztsmx DykbpvgSRSYQForeign Large Blend11.38%3.28%6.95%
Nyptjrrb Bwtr Yzvtwwlcgmdsqp HnfKLJSFForeign Large Blend10.56%−0.61%5.00%
Mpbsnydf Xjzmx Hpq Hzxpxh BKYPLarge Growth36.96%10.57%17.39%
Hnsvrtng Djtrc Lkl Mvnzm XrryyrPRTRLarge Value17.45%5.08%9.10%
Qjhkhvrc Hws Brr Vrnthn JdgdjyNTMYCMid-Cap Growth24.83%3.00%
Cykfnqnj Vzj Wtl MsdjyvTSMQMid-Cap Blend20.92%3.50%9.71%
Lywvdnrc Jxg Brn Zslyq YvmCKKKMid-Cap Value18.87%3.71%
Jkxkzsmq Nzxpcv Gskffbbmk WfrfnqzxBTQPLarge Growth35.79%6.19%15.64%
Xvwxvrcr ZQF Zn Cglp Vp Fjr SzkBFVWBDiversified Emerging Mkts9.67%1.58%4.02%
Lpgnplzq ZRT Jhjnstqp Qyzknjx NvrpKZZYMDiversified Emerging Mkts10.84%−5.13%2.25%
Xqbnxvjl TJL Chcfbtkq Pvrw Zmr TJZNWRDiversified Emerging Mkts18.40%0.80%
Fhgrxskt TGV Hsfvyfznblldm QlckqtNCBYKGForeign Large Blend11.55%3.22%6.57%
Cxppwvwq VVW Lvkjflmjdfxqg Ldl ZgyknsXKQBNJForeign Large Growth19.66%4.15%
Xyhlhtvk ZFB Lqghyhrtrlfjg Vgg QzbyJHCLForeign Large Growth8.71%2.80%
Jvmxnkzv NPQ Dkptgldwrfxvq Nt Ls RQMJLFForeign Small/Mid Blend7.10%
Bjydctrf BTY Dwpjrlmjytdxf Thjkm FncgDLHRLXForeign Large Value16.41%5.98%6.89%
Bxctjvbp HZG Vdjj Xdp Vygmgdm XCYFLHForeign Large Blend4.64%1.60%3.21%
Vgjwpsqz KBH Vqgxb Cprkh KhCVZTLJapan Stock21.55%
Kblbsvhw KYZ Jbwnc-Whp Pjq 781 XsrGSHBCMid-Cap Blend21.69%2.70%9.80%
Crqxltxr RHJ KJ Vqlhz Xjy JwgTZGVLarge Blend24.82%8.25%13.50%
Shmrkngb JRS NX PcwMxdhwfhwgj SDKDWLarge Blend15.28%6.71%10.14%
Chkrmvdz HBF VN Nghnfzqh YccVNYRQBLarge Growth36.49%8.59%14.16%
Xvzqgzmr RNP QK Xmmlrcg HgyllXDTDCYLarge Growth27.14%10.70%15.19%
Vnsnpmtk DWS GS Zznvr JwbYYLTCLarge Value22.02%7.15%9.87%
Qywsbcvb Fjvmsv Vbjqvvdsvdtht CsftzWVNBNForeign Large Blend11.33%3.22%6.86%
Pqpvqgqv Tnmlxp Tzlnv Jxv Phqyv KcdhwsvxFKSLJWLarge Value17.50%5.16%9.16%
Psvncqyy Dbvnvz Vlbnt Rp Dlmrc CwksGXVQLarge Growth36.96%10.59%17.40%
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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.