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 GrowthDFDMX26.2%8.1%11.1%0.0%0.87%
Dodge & Cox StockDODGX27.714.511.31.40.51
Fidelity Blue Chip GrowthFBGRX47.322.717.70.20.48
Heartland Mid Cap ValueHRMDX17.912.3N/A0.61.10
Mairs & Power GrowthMPGFX35.514.511.90.80.64
T. Rowe Price Dividend GrowthPRDGX29.012.812.41.00.64
T. Rowe Price QM US Sm-Cp Gr EqPRDSX30.510.310.70.00.80
T. Rowe Price Small-Cap ValuePRSVX25.58.89.00.60.80
Primecap Odyssey GrowthPOGRX23.112.912.00.40.66
Vanguard Equity-IncomeVEIPX26.311.510.52.60.27
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 MarketsBEXFX24.1%4.2%3.4%0.6%1.37%
Brown Capital Mgmt Intl Small CompanyBCSVX31.910.1N/A0.01.31
Fidelity International GrowthFIGFX28.19.17.90.40.84
Janus Henderson Global Equity IncomeHFQTX21.27.65.23.90.98
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 CareFSPHX23.5%11.9%10.0%0.0%0.65%
T. Rowe Price Global TechnologyPRGTX48.613.615.00.00.94
Vanguard WellingtonVWELX24.89.18.62.10.26
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 BondBAGSX12.2%0.5%2.0%3.9%0.55%
Dodge & Cox IncomeDODIX13.52.12.94.80.41
Fidelity Interm Muni IncomeFLTMX8.61.52.23.00.36
Fidelity Strategic IncomeFADMX8.93.03.34.40.66
T. Rowe Price Floating RatePRFRX9.85.14.48.20.77
Vanguard Emerging Markets BondVEMBX18.94.6N/A6.30.55
Vanguard High-Yield CorporateVWEHX14.33.94.65.80.22
Vanguard Short-Term Inv-GradeVFSTX9.52.12.24.00.20
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 36.4%16.0%13.4%1.3%Row 30 - Cell 6
RUSSELL 2000 INDEX*Row 31 - Cell 1 26.89.48.81.3Row 31 - Cell 6
MSCI EAFE INDEX†Row 32 - Cell 1 24.88.25.73.0Row 32 - Cell 6
MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEXRow 33 - Cell 1 26.15.74.02.7Row 33 - Cell 6
BLOOMBERG U.S. AGG BOND IDX#Row 34 - Cell 1 11.60.31.84.2Row 34 - Cell 6

As of September 30, 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.