The Kiplinger 25: Our Favorite No-Load Mutual Funds
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
|
Fund name |
Symbol |
One-year return |
Five-year annualized return |
10-year annualized return |
Yield |
Expense ratio |
|
DF Dent Midcap Growth |
DFDMX |
9.3% |
5.2% |
9.9% |
0.0% |
0.89% |
|
Dodge & Cox Stock |
DODGX |
9.6 |
17.0 |
10.9 |
1.4 |
0.51 |
|
Fidelity Blue Chip Growth |
FBGRX |
12.1 |
18.4 |
16.9 |
0.2 |
0.47 |
|
Heartland Mid Cap Value |
HRMDX |
-0.8 |
13.3 |
8.3 |
0.8 |
1.10 |
|
Mairs & Power Growth |
MPGFX |
4.4 |
13.1 |
10.8 |
0.9 |
0.62 |
|
Oberweis Small-Cap Opportunities |
OBSOX |
-4.7 |
18.6 |
12.0 |
0.0 |
1.25 |
|
T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth |
PRDGX |
9.4 |
13.2 |
11.5 |
1.0 |
0.64 |
|
T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Value |
PRSVX |
3.0 |
10.9 |
7.7 |
0.9 |
0.77 |
|
PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth |
POGRX |
7.7 |
13.1 |
11.1 |
0.4 |
0.66 |
|
Vanguard Equity-Income |
VEIPX |
10.1 |
13.5 |
10.0 |
2.7 |
0.27 |
|
Fund name |
Symbol |
One-year return |
Five-year annualized return |
10-year annualized return |
Yield |
Expense ratio |
|
Baron Emerging Markets |
BEXFX |
15.5% |
5.9% |
3.2% |
0.5% |
1.37% |
|
Brown Capital Mgmt Intl Small Co |
BCSVX |
15.4 |
8.2 |
— |
0.0 |
1.31 |
|
Fidelity International Growth |
FIGFX |
7.4 |
9.0 |
7.3 |
0.4 |
0.86 |
|
Janus Henderson Global Equity Income |
HFQTX |
14.9 |
11.5 |
5.6 |
7.3 |
0.95 |
|
Fund name |
Symbol |
One-year return |
Five-year annualized return |
10-year annualized return |
Yield |
Expense ratio |
|
Fidelity Select Health Care |
FSPHX |
-3.1% |
3.0% |
6.0% |
0.0% |
0.63% |
|
T. Rowe Price Global Technology |
PRGTX |
12.7 |
9.0 |
14.0 |
0.0 |
0.92 |
|
Vanguard Wellington |
VWELX |
11.2 |
9.7 |
8.4 |
2.1 |
0.25 |
|
Fund name |
Symbol |
One-year return |
Five-year annualized return |
10-year annualized return |
Yield |
Expense ratio |
|
Baird Aggregate Bond |
BAGSX |
5.4% |
-0.7% |
1.6% |
3.7% |
0.55% |
|
Dodge & Cox Income |
DODIX |
5.7 |
1.0 |
2.6 |
4.2 |
0.41 |
|
Fidelity Interm Muni Income |
FLTMX |
Row 3 – Cell 2 | Row 3 – Cell 3 | Row 3 – Cell 4 |
2.7 |
0.37 |
|
Fidelity Strategic Income |
FADMX |
Row 4 – Cell 2 | Row 4 – Cell 3 |
— |
4.1 |
0.65 |
|
T. Rowe Price Floating Rate |
PRFRX |
7.1 |
6.7 |
4.5 |
7.0 |
0.77 |
|
Vanguard Emerging Markets Bond |
VEMBX |
8.3 |
4.3 |
— |
6.7 |
0.50 |
|
Vanguard High-Yield Corporate |
VWEHX |
8.8 |
4.8 |
4.5 |
6.2 |
0.22 |
|
Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade |
VFSTX |
7.0 |
2.0 |
2.3 |
4.3 |
0.20 |
|
Indexes |
Row 0 – Cell 1 |
One-year return |
Five-year annualized return |
10-year annualized return |
Yield |
|
S&P 500 INDEX |
Row 1 – Cell 1 |
13.5% |
15.9% |
12.9% |
1.3% |
|
RUSSELL 2000 INDEX* |
Row 2 – Cell 1 |
1.2 |
9.6 |
6.6 |
1.6 |
|
MSCI EAFE INDEX† |
Row 3 – Cell 1 |
13.3 |
11.4 |
6.0 |
3.1 |
|
MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX |
Row 4 – Cell 1 |
13.0 |
7.1 |
3.9 |
2.7 |
|
BLOOMBERG U.S. AGGREGATE BOND INDEX# |
Row 5 – Cell 1 |
5.5 |
-0.9 |
1.5 |
4.7 |
As of May 31, 2025. *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.