Investing Insights

14 Elite Funds and ETFs, and 5 Popular Funds That Just Missed the Mark

October 2, 2026·12 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

The menu of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds can appear to go on and on, and it’s probably hard not to feel overwhelmed when you’re researching what works for your portfolio. A popular annual feature in Morningstar’s FundInvestor newsletter narrows the choices from thousands to about a few dozen. Russ Kinnel has done the hard work for you and is here to share investment ideas from his Thrilling Funds list. He’s the newsletter editor and Morningstar’s senior principal of ratings. Sign up for Morningstar’s FundInvestor newsletter.  On this episode: 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:11 What's New in Morningstar's FundInvestor Newsletter 00:01:55 How Funds Make the Thrilling Funds List 00:03:43 Large-, Midsize, and Small-Company Funds From Fidelity, Vanguard and More   00:06:22 Bond ETFs, Global Stock Funds, and Municipal Bond Funds That Stand Out 00:08:50 Why Fidelity Contrafund and Other Popular Funds Just Missed the Cut 00:10:02 How Investors Can Find Out How Their Funds Stack Up Against the Criteria  Watch more from Morningstar: Why Are Some of the Strongest Stocks Struggling This Year?  Don't Make This Mistake When Chasing Higher Bond Yields  How AI Is Taking Over Your Portfolio   Follow Morningstar on social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc/ X: https://x.com/MorningstarInc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/  This episode is sponsored by Vanguard: https://advisors.vanguard.com/engagement/fixed-income  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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