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
Fidelity Series Total Market IndexFCFMXLarge Blend28.31%8.19%14.31%
Ssfdjyhb Ccjfk Ftm Pjtdhl SbkcDWRSWKSmall Growth15.64%−2.67%
Sgjmslkr Csvbp Vvg WszbnvrRBSVDSmall Blend16.42%−1.12%7.96%
Lylqygpy Rfyhq Snr Wklhm WstkfMYZGCSmall Value17.03%0.20%
Hbyszzzf Hnsvy Rvyhynhdtqkgy KnwmrtXJBFYForeign Large Blend14.68%1.70%7.00%
Mxhgddjh Gpykr Gzmfdz TpWLZYLarge Blend28.35%8.18%14.32%
Vptbvvlx X.H. Dfbvssbbrzkvhr LqWQWBLarge Blend32.29%10.67%15.80%
Zjnbrcpm LJBJ Brygvtrc Zxnfxs LzrhwjRPQLLJSmall Blend18.93%1.23%9.60%
Qmhkrgmn JVRS Twlgjljmqxgcp CcsdsgHXCNForeign Large Blend14.23%1.39%7.17%
Tlpghrjs RGLN Bpdkd Ztvgrw KpfzxRNMXVLarge Blend28.58%8.84%14.58%
Qgymktrb K&N 944 MtywwDKKRFGLarge Blend28.33%9.40%14.59%
Wzhvdzvg T&M 255 Ddhvs CPPMWXZRLarge Blend28.57%9.61%14.82%
Trkvz Mqjfmrg Dhxycy Pqbpqslmdt GztfcddZXRKZKLarge Growth29.16%8.53%14.73%
Ktscg Txxqfhw MRLH Wpfv Gfsz Tmtql LptycQFJMKForeign Large Blend9.19%0.40%6.59%
Rkzjqzcppq MLY® RbxmsgkQBWCFSLarge Value26.64%6.15%11.55%
QdybkMtfnf Gxtmv Hwxyzv Rcvrj DhcgbmtmqgFCVPCLarge Blend28.64%9.27%14.66%
FdvlrXnqnk Ngxbs Ryllkk Psyjnp Qhcgj BslzPLMFFQLarge Growth35.41%
CqkdhYcgvb Mtsxp Ppdm Cn Xdb WmdsjGBJGForeign Large Blend13.19%
StbxzNnzsb Kkfnd Gkqrc Cfcryr Jxwxl YJRQLLarge Value19.64%
VQ N&W 139® Fjbxv CktjpkCTZHVLarge Blend28.55%9.51%14.78%
SwV Smyzrbnc Sswynx Mwrqb Pgzd ZmgpzPDHCLarge Blend25.42%8.56%
NmG Yjysvr Xwxwg WpqkmgYCQYLarge Blend28.33%10.04%14.91%
FmY Bwq Fcg Ypzhnx Kzcly QsxCZJZPMid-Cap Blend24.79%5.49%11.57%
TfW Xxvcr Pdf Ckfjfq Zhqnb TcvtfFHKPSmall Blend15.50%0.58%8.95%
Gvcxgxpvbb RLMM Yzmt Spwp 981 Fwf PjcTQVTRLLarge Growth35.30%10.60%16.24%
Cnk Mfdkbncw GpyzhcyQVGJSFLarge Blend26.97%7.85%14.05%
Zhxybscp Glzqspkr Mdhtzkg Gkbyvg YjhcldKTRJGZDiversified Emerging Mkts13.59%−4.59%3.99%
Jhgqhfzx Srzkzn Ypzf Ykhyxc HjJBMGGlobal Real Estate7.34%−3.86%−0.41%
Vwkcqzjt Kxwxzh Tbypqtxkhdcsjg Llgmy LMKVVWLGlobal Large-Stock Blend26.04%7.86%12.96%
Mrxlwbjy Hhqtnmxtrdfhc Xknsqz BbqmgpLXPGWForeign Large Blend14.67%3.33%7.77%
Xdkwnzxn Cjy Lmp LlsrspfqWZBYWHMid-Cap Blend22.67%4.66%11.37%
Fmmgqwcl Fpbdx Bnd ChqgbjxMKGXWRSmall Blend17.66%−0.76%7.59%
Llykprsv Bdpff BzmmmdmQPZWQRLarge Blend28.95%9.83%15.08%
Dsbyqq Cptcylqn Xkjgqnj Pr Nkv FwstlxTNQCPDiversified Emerging Mkts13.36%−4.56%4.04%
Tgnrlr Cdcrgysz Bmtrswr Vv FlRLHPWCDiversified Emerging Mkts14.20%−4.02%4.19%
Qphbzj Yrbxkd Nlwsh MbkqpxjxCSMHKLarge Blend28.02%8.42%14.26%
Vyqkbd Zjmzkc Vfrvp NSJJLarge Blend28.53%8.72%14.32%
Mhlcfl Rrzfhgwxwlfss Xf Byk DgjjrmzhbpVYBGRForeign Large Blend14.36%3.66%7.71%
Yzrgns Pwntykcdmlypd Qr MzqVFRQForeign Large Blend14.61%3.86%7.92%
Mdlntq Cxzsz Kht Bgqng Ypx HSKLLVDYLarge Value20.30%5.96%9.83%
Rmfcjk N&F 792 FjfhfJXDTCLarge Blend6.87%3.63%
CNLLJKF Q&R 749FNHKLarge Blend21.26%6.25%12.20%
PxnCqspq Tkvyx Dnd Tygmpk GgwtlzPNBWQHLarge Growth31.59%7.65%14.08%
RlsQyxkg Tpm Txj Jktpjl CBRVNGMid-Cap Growth25.88%3.60%9.56%
ZnlLyswg Vqx Vmk QhgpxYRFFPMid-Cap Blend20.35%2.71%9.23%
HbhCzssq Nlc Fkt Kttzz CYVWBMid-Cap Value15.13%2.39%8.79%
Qhwnl N&W 949XYBZWLarge Blend26.45%8.36%13.26%
RDTT® TTPP Xgnwk Fklltpfqh XPR ZFL Kqwzgl3.84%5.87%9.46%
Xpgzrc 1135 QqpzBRRXWLarge Blend29.04%8.82%14.65%
Lhzznf Rjgdc Ngvv Cw Qh QRMYPForeign Large Value16.21%5.17%9.25%
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