If you're evaluating mutual funds for your investment portfolio or retirement account, this list highlights the best index funds to consider now, based on it having outperformed the S&P 500 over the past one-, three-, five- and 10-year periods.
Of 219 index funds at least 10 years old, just seven of them, or 3%, are winners among the 2025 IBD Best Mutual Funds.
The goal of index funds is to replicate the performance of a benchmark such as the S&P 500. These passive investment vehicles have been at the forefront of a revolution in U.S. equity markets, capturing the attention and investment dollars of a growing number of investors. In 2012, passive index funds that track market benchmarks made up just 21% of the U.S. equity fund market. In 2024, they accounted for about 60% of assets, outperforming actively traded funds.
For more details, read about how the best mutual funds deliver benchmark-beating returns, and see the full 2025 list of IBD's Best Mutual Funds in every category, including bond funds, diversified stock funds, blend and index funds, and breakouts of large-cap, midcap and small-cap funds.
All returns are as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Best Index Funds
| Fund | Symbol | 1-year total return | 3-year total return | 5-year total return | 10-year total return | Morningstar category | Annual report net expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark: S&P 500 | 25.02% | 8.94% | 14.53% | 13.10% | |||
| Victory NASDAQ-100 Index | USNQX | 25.42 | 9.24 | 19.67 | 17.98 | Large Growth | 0.42% |
| VALIC Company I NASDAQ-100 Index | VCNIX | 25.27 | 9.15 | 19.55 | 17.90 | Large Growth | 0.44 |
| Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Investor | NASDX | 25.31 | 9.27 | 19.81 | 17.79 | Large Growth | 0.51 |
| Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Idx Port I | IRLNX | 34.60 | 11.20 | 19.99 | 17.55 | Large Growth | 0.43 |
| Nuveen Large Cap Gr Idx R6 | TILIX | 33.28 | 10.43 | 18.91 | 16.71 | Large Growth | 0.05 |
| Vanguard Growth Index Investor* | VIGRX | 32.5 | 9.06 | 18.21 | 15.61 | Large Growth | 0.17 |
| Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port I | IIRLX | 26.95 | 9.51 | 15.31 | 13.63 | Large Blend | 0.36 |
Sources: IBD, Morningstar Direct
* Fund is closed to new investors
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