Foreign Index Funds

The best passive funds for overseas exposure.

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 Foreign. Index Funds pick list includes top-rated passive funds from our foreign fund 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
BNY Mellon International Stock Index Inv	DIISX	Foreign Large Blend		9.48%	6.76%	3.20%
Gzdsrdf Wmdnqmdztvwdv Lfsdb Ksm	XJYFRS	Foreign Large Blend		9.71%	6.80%	3.15%
Gmqrxgpv® Wmwc Lvygvpcnkjqss Cq	YPWMN	Foreign Large Blend		5.38%	6.04%	2.80%
Gntvvdhr® Ttxypt rg ZR Rr	LHLX	Foreign Large Blend		5.43%	6.03%	2.77%
Zbcmdgrj® Gqjxqgrdndhtd Xpqygc	CVQCXM	Foreign Large Blend		10.39%	7.41%	3.80%
Vtymyccx® Jlsn Pjxdnnnbxbxdvf Xs	WXTW	Foreign Large Blend		4.80%	4.90%	2.79%
Wxqnkcmh® ZCB Khpfdrhdndblc Kkjk	DKSXTM	Foreign Large Blend		10.60%	7.42%	3.78%
Lyvktscz® YHV Yyvzlwdzkcwhw Qzg Kfthmr	BWMXMM	Foreign Large Growth		9.78%	6.35%	—
Pqsnsycp® WVM Vtpxmdgkhcvys Vvw R	SYPB	Foreign Large Growth		12.81%	7.84%	—
Hmwhfszf® VKP Ybhjmvgzcwbpm Rv Dl Dmksc	HTGDFV	Foreign Small/Mid Blend	—	−0.08%	—	—
Jhtwswzj® CXD Zyjvzzjmtyqyw Fkvhy Kjvgl	HPWGM	Foreign Large Value		7.60%	9.60%	2.28%
Rdddsfzb® WDT Npfn Xht Whxtblp Nwbcd	KLMFBV	Foreign Large Blend		7.28%	2.93%	1.93%
Tydmpkld® Dvgmnp Ytjlwygzypllb Nbmznw	NKQLGY	Foreign Large Blend		10.26%	7.35%	—
Khszmysy® Vxctc Xslfnqkyjzyfz Bhvgg	BFCSD	Foreign Large Blend		5.00%	6.14%	2.65%
Twxysnsn® GVGD Zcbbcyqdnwnpx Jhbty	KLMSB	Foreign Large Blend		6.00%	6.21%	—
Jpgts Jmnvyvy MFLX Wrvq Lrny Fdsfb Dtbch	QPPDJ	Foreign Large Blend		8.65%	4.75%	3.48%
XmyxjPzfgf Vbmgn Vthm Xy Zbq Rynjvk	SRGDF	Foreign Large Blend		—	—	—
Ghgmkkft Flltlgwnnqfdy Pwnhmm Ttrl	WCNDG	Foreign Large Blend		10.21%	7.28%	3.61%
Zmdlyhn RbbyvFczxbt Crlzyfyz Vfvp K	HLWWBV	Foreign Large Blend		1.65%	4.78%	3.26%
Hlbnzr Cplbk Mzkq Sg Sg T	VNGQY	Foreign Large Value		7.13%	11.44%	4.25%
Ckyjcq Fntggljmjhsqj Sjsndv	RSGZS	Foreign Large Blend		10.28%	7.40%	3.72%
Ttrkv Jhdgtz Jcn Sqg Pgj Qc jh-GV Mpsxd	SMJJT	Foreign Large Blend		4.72%	6.08%	2.84%
Mldph Tzcfmq Thk Tpq Hnp Pm gx-XP Hsl NRMH	MLYTDR	Foreign Large Blend		4.70%	6.06%	2.79%
D. Nscf Qjcnx Ttvqcrqdqsqrp Gy Xsjjp	NJGZ	Foreign Large Blend		10.05%	7.42%	3.48%
KRNK-MNLG Yjhxmkzhnnrqs Pz Pjt Ftmpxrwsct	PRZRVN	Foreign Large Blend		10.15%	7.27%	3.63%
XBYD-QRBM Zrgzlvshlcypf Rq Cvr Gbffcgxms	FTJM	Foreign Large Blend		10.17%	7.24%	3.59%
TYBC-YPRW Hrxngzsnnrgtk Ly Gmf QVR	MCQMKK	Foreign Large Blend		10.36%	7.46%	—
XHWYB Kylrgld W Zddgkjyhhfqmt Bgv Mzbxcb	PPDRK	Foreign Large Blend		9.47%	6.90%	3.24%
Tbhr Kmrcvlzvxscdj Skwys Kzty H	FBHFS	Foreign Large Blend		9.72%	6.75%	3.11%
wYypscs JFRL QGSK Nkvw Myy Bxj C	CTJNT	Foreign Large Blend		10.10%	7.18%	3.46%
cThjsby GKNP Ffrlq Yhyt Flx Fqr YJZL	ZPGTLW	Foreign Large Blend		4.57%	5.46%	2.23%

List Criteria

International Equity Funds

For this list, we included all of the major international (non-U.S.) fund categories. This includes diversified foreign funds that invest in large companies and smaller companies across the globe; diversified emerging-markets funds; funds focused on China, India, Japan, as well as more diversified Pacific- Asia funds; and Europe- and Latin America- focused funds. (Note that funds from some of these categories may not appear in the list depending on the other criteria required.)

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.

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.

Open to New Investment

All the funds on this list are open for new investment. Sometimes mutual funds will close to new investors-or even restrict existing fundholders from investing more money-when the fund is receiving more money than the management team believes it can invest effectively. Closing a fund under these circumstances is usually considered investor-friendly, as funds that get too big can sometimes suffer performance problems later. Even though new investors can’t get into closed funds (so such funds are not included here), closed funds that are rated Gold, Silver, or Bronze may be worth putting on a watch list.

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.