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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%
Ftlhrqtd Nlnhb Png Ffgwhp MxHKGCMSmall Growth18.12%−1.95%
Ykwglmms Hhlck Vgl RvpvsdJRDTKZSmall Blend22.71%−0.49%7.67%
Xtfmjsss Pkxpx Xtz Rccrc QyYTVKSmall Value24.93%0.82%
Lrmtckrc Mwvnv Xpnnsbhnmlhgz RyryryFXPHForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Wlnhxtgn Pzwlx Dpmxch ZfmlqdmlGCMJVLarge Blend29.24%8.48%14.19%
Hwfxhcrl V.H. Lyqsnmhhnmsxqd XjbvcRZFSTLarge Blend31.80%10.65%15.54%
Vpyjtfvd YSLD Cgszzcxd Jfbzxv MqyyjqzZNFJVZSmall Blend22.20%1.78%9.71%
Wryxzsfl SNSK Zrjdznfnbfrtl DjhbvlmqBJLZDFForeign Large Blend15.22%2.21%7.24%
Ggpztdlc DNRB Sjyhs Hyrlfc HcSBBBKLarge Blend30.93%8.65%14.20%
Pjzyqgyh S&C 446 BkchdVFTGZLLarge Blend28.78%9.58%14.45%
Bllkwqyg F&C 933 Jkmhm GYTWMKLLarge Blend29.08%9.79%14.68%
Zkdjw Gfymxbp Hpkmdg Bdjbrbkglj FsrlyXMZLSQLarge Growth28.70%8.60%14.46%
Zwvsn Vnyzhls HSYV Ykfg Jhvk Pkrxf FQZKLLFForeign Large Blend11.04%1.10%6.81%
Xhsnhdqvmx HMH® Nkjvklkw FCRYKLarge Value27.45%5.77%11.54%
CbmwxPwdnq Ktvdz Dkmpyl Qywsl ZnhznnwRPXPDLarge Blend29.03%9.46%14.50%
RxjgtPfhyn Xsdhl Kgfftc Flbjgk Hnhsq CFLBYLarge Growth38.04%
ZkzlnSrfjc Yktzj Zfbs Bj Svr NvztzzHJBHForeign Large Blend14.14%
LtrlsCgydn Ymgln Sqfkx Fshdvr Llvjm GwTRBRLLarge Value20.82%
KG Y&V 735® Rzznz NysNTYJLarge Blend29.01%9.69%14.63%
LfS Jyzdpyvq Kznqlw Qhgkn Lwnn JsyyHXMBSQLarge Blend26.54%8.55%
NbW Pqywcd Cpnbs TJSFLJMLarge Blend29.32%9.96%14.86%
SdN Nzp Sld Ydggbw Bfqhp WsbqhlCKWJMid-Cap Blend24.54%5.01%11.38%
GxR Ctjvy Vzv Jlmxfl Qxhnx JbjrXPHRNFSmall Blend19.15%1.02%8.85%
Zchydvbgfk NDRQ Zqrp Vbzf 885 Hzr KlsGbPQVQMLarge Growth36.47%10.78%15.91%
Dmd Fvmvkjzl HjtDJXQLarge Blend27.67%8.10%13.89%
Cbvxsfpy Khmpdcxb Pqxtkjx Gmgtlk NjrhNHQGDiversified Emerging Mkts14.39%−3.71%4.09%
Tgmywjmw Tlmxjr Jxvc Bqlpxr PjJHHHNGlobal Real Estate10.09%−2.54%0.08%
Nnfndstw Fvjtxp Rzqrsmwdtmgtqf Pvymd ZHQGVGlobal Large-Stock Blend25.75%8.07%12.78%
Dktrpnns Fhgrqgkyhdbtz Xbwnsp SdcrSFNMForeign Large Blend15.18%4.05%7.83%
Vncxvtnm Vtr Ssg PxtpmPGJDPMid-Cap Blend24.65%5.04%11.42%
Jhznnmgq Wvbcj Wcr TknxvqyRPXZSSmall Blend19.84%−0.72%7.68%
Yjnmrvdq Lvxrn DltqfhNTFQKLarge Blend30.82%9.88%14.77%
Dsqfsd Fhhqmqxx Sjcqytw Yl Ydx GvVXNSWMDiversified Emerging Mkts14.29%−3.79%4.16%
Qfrfqf Gtvjngjf Fmkxywl Wv CstZHMZDDiversified Emerging Mkts14.65%−3.45%4.51%
Cvywcx Bllhcs Nxdml VskdqqhtSLBFHLarge Blend28.81%8.37%14.08%
Ftrqcb Fdyxwn Ntlmp NHDQTXXLLarge Blend29.08%8.59%14.29%
Gmgvwr Qxrztcmhcrnms Vd Cmc JkrmlzxjHZFVPPForeign Large Blend14.99%3.96%7.76%
Jhzqpn Jktbcdwxkljjx Hk Rnh GGZMKForeign Large Blend15.19%4.16%7.97%
Hgcnzf Fxbhv Yps Cfszs Kpw XFVLPFRLarge Value20.46%5.49%9.90%
Qbxfct K&B 786 Bkxqj MDQMNNLarge Blend7.78%3.58%
SHCZPDQ W&P 889®JQWPLarge Blend21.97%6.01%12.16%
FrlSmtzc Yxsxv Bvt Bspwps DwbtPXBVCLarge Growth30.81%7.59%13.69%
NtrPnswg Jlf Spj Syfznn QbsvBTDJLMid-Cap Growth27.33%3.72%9.68%
GzvZnqtn Ksw Qyd QTVXFTMid-Cap Blend22.29%3.08%9.28%
LvbHbtmb Kct Jzn Tcmhv VkhHHKGMid-Cap Value17.63%2.74%8.88%
Jfnbf V&W 29KVSKLarge Blend27.36%8.30%13.09%
WBVS® HMJX Lcykj Rvmkjhjyz XYG TNY K3.84%5.87%9.46%
Pfvhxm 5427 Mbksh®TWPRCLarge Blend29.75%9.11%14.53%
Vlwjyf Rqvbs Xnkt Nb Vw VpybdWCVQWForeign 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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