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).

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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 GrowthDFDMX7.5%6.1%9.7%0.0%0.87%
Dodge & Cox StockDODGX19.013.010.61.40.51
Fidelity Blue Chip GrowthFBGRX42.021.817.80.00.48
Heartland Mid Cap ValueHRMDX6.310.4N/A0.71.10
Mairs & Power GrowthMPGFX22.913.911.20.80.64
T. Rowe Price Dividend GrowthPRDGX16.811.911.71.00.64
T. Rowe Price QM US Sm-Cp Gr EqPRDSX14.48.49.50.00.80
T. Rowe Price Small-Cap ValuePRSVX8.66.77.00.60.80
Primecap Odyssey GrowthPOGRX18.311.511.70.40.66
Vanguard Equity-IncomeVEIPX14.310.29.52.60.27
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 MarketsBEXFX8.2%1.7%2.0%0.4%1.37%
Brown Capital Mgmt Intl Small CompanyBCSVX5.76.5N/A0.01.31
Fidelity International GrowthFIGFX12.18.16.90.40.84
Janus Henderson Global Equity IncomeHFQTX10.76.44.13.60.98
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 CareFSPHX5.1%8.7%9.6%0.0%0.65%
T. Rowe Price Global TechnologyPRGTX37.412.715.30.00.94
Vanguard WellingtonVWELX15.08.78.12.50.26
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 BondBAGSX3.5%0.0%1.5%4.3%0.55%
Dodge & Cox IncomeDODIX4.51.42.34.70.41
Fidelity Interm Muni IncomeFLTMX3.01.22.13.40.36
Fidelity Strategic IncomeFADMX8.02.8N/A5.30.66
T. Rowe Price Floating RatePRFRX10.64.94.18.20.78
Vanguard Emerging Markets BondVEMBX11.03.6N/A6.90.55
Vanguard High-Yield CorporateVWEHX9.33.44.06.50.22
Vanguard Short-Term Inv-GradeVFSTX5.91.51.85.00.20
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 24.6%15.0%12.9%1.4%Row 30 - Cell 6
RUSSELL 2000 INDEX*Row 31 - Cell 1 10.16.97.01.4Row 31 - Cell 6
MSCI EAFE INDEX†Row 32 - Cell 1 11.56.54.33.0Row 32 - Cell 6
MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEXRow 33 - Cell 1 12.53.12.82.8Row 33 - Cell 6
BLOOMBERG U.S. AGG BOND IDX#Row 34 - Cell 1 2.6-0.21.35.0Row 34 - Cell 6

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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.