The Kiplinger 25: Our Favorite No-Load Mutual Funds

The Kiplinger 25 is a list of our top no-load mutual funds that have proven capable of weathering any storm.

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The Kiplinger 25 is a list of our favorite no-load mutual funds. We favor funds run by seasoned managers who take a long view and have proved themselves able to weather many a storm. And we prefer low to below-average fees.

In the tables below, you can see for each of the 25 funds, expense ratios and one-year, and annualized five- and ten-year total returns (the fund's rate of return over a given period of time, including interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions).

The Kiplinger 25 Funds

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Header Cell - Column 0 Symbol1 yr. return5 yrs. annualized total return10 yrs. annualized total returnYieldExpense ratio
U.S. Stock FundsRow 0 - Cell 1 Row 0 - Cell 2 Row 0 - Cell 3 Row 0 - Cell 4 Row 0 - Cell 5 Row 0 - Cell 6
DF Dent Midcap GrowthDFDMX32.6%7.7%10.3%0.0%0.87%
Dodge & Cox StockDODGX32.013.911.21.40.51
Fidelity Blue Chip GrowthFBGRX51.821.817.40.20.47
Heartland Mid Cap ValueHRMDX19.011.39.20.61.10
Mairs & Power GrowthMPGFX37.013.911.40.80.64
T. Rowe Price Dividend GrowthPRDGX27.212.011.81.00.64
T. Rowe Price QM US Sm-Cp Gr EqPRDSX36.19.610.00.00.80
T. Rowe Price Small-Cap ValuePRSVX30.98.38.30.60.80
Primecap Odyssey GrowthPOGRX28.011.811.50.40.66
Vanguard Equity-IncomeVEIPX28.711.010.22.40.27
International Stock FundsRow 11 - Cell 1 Row 11 - Cell 2 Row 11 - Cell 3 Row 11 - Cell 4 Row 11 - Cell 5 Row 11 - Cell 6
Baron Emerging MarketsBEXFX23.1%2.4%2.7%0.7%1.37%
Brown Capital Mgmt Intl Small CompanyBCSVX32.88.5N/A0.01.31
Fidelity International GrowthFIGFX25.47.37.30.40.84
Janus Henderson Global Equity IncomeHFQTX20.16.44.94.00.98
Specialized FundsRow 16 - Cell 1 Row 16 - Cell 2 Row 16 - Cell 3 Row 16 - Cell 4 Row 16 - Cell 5 Row 16 - Cell 6
Fidelity Select Health CareFSPHX25.4%9.6%9.1%0.0%0.65%
T. Rowe Price Global TechnologyPRGTX49.613.014.50.00.94
Vanguard WellingtonVWELX24.58.58.32.10.26
Bond FundsRow 20 - Cell 1 Row 20 - Cell 2 Row 20 - Cell 3 Row 20 - Cell 4 Row 20 - Cell 5 Row 20 - Cell 6
Baird Aggregate BondBAGSX11.4%0.0%1.6%3.7%0.55%
Dodge & Cox IncomeDODIX12.41.52.64.30.41
Fidelity Interm Muni IncomeFLTMX7.91.22.03.10.36
Fidelity Strategic IncomeFADMX14.43.23.54.80.66
T. Rowe Price Floating RatePRFRX10.55.34.58.10.77
Vanguard Emerging Markets BondVEMBX18.44.1N/A6.20.55
Vanguard High-Yield CorporateVWEHX14.23.64.46.00.22
Vanguard Short-Term Inv-GradeVFSTX8.61.82.14.30.20
IndexesRow 29 - Cell 1 Row 29 - Cell 2 Row 29 - Cell 3 Row 29 - Cell 4 Row 29 - Cell 5 Row 29 - Cell 6
S&P 500-STOCK INDEXRow 30 - Cell 1 38.0%15.3%13.0%1.3%Row 30 - Cell 6
RUSSELL 2000 INDEX*Row 31 - Cell 1 34.18.57.91.3Row 31 - Cell 6
MSCI EAFE INDEX†Row 32 - Cell 1 23.06.25.33.0Row 32 - Cell 6
MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEXRow 33 - Cell 1 25.33.93.42.5Row 33 - Cell 6
BLOOMBERG U.S. AGG BOND IDX#Row 34 - Cell 1 10.5-0.21.54.7Row 34 - Cell 6

As of October 31, 2024. *Small-company U.S. stocks. †Foreign stocks. #High-grade U.S. bonds.  N/A = Fund not in existence for the entire period. 

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SOURCES: Fund companies, FTSE Russell, Morningstar Inc., MSCI, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Yields listed for bond funds are SEC yields, which are net of fees; stock fund yields are the yield for the past 12 months.

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Nellie S. Huang
Senior Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Nellie joined Kiplinger in August 2011 after a seven-year stint in Hong Kong. There, she worked for the Wall Street Journal Asia, where as lifestyle editor, she launched and edited Scene Asia, an online guide to food, wine, entertainment and the arts in Asia. Prior to that, she was an editor at Weekend Journal, the Friday lifestyle section of the Wall Street Journal Asia. Kiplinger isn't Nellie's first foray into personal finance: She has also worked at SmartMoney (rising from fact-checker to senior writer), and she was a senior editor at Money.