The Best Value Funds

Over the past 12 months, large-value stocks and the broader market have traded the lead in their performance race several times. The Morningstar US Market Index has outperformed the Morningstar US Large Value Market Index by a little more than 3 percentage points for the past year, but has maintained a commanding performance lead over large-value stocks over the past decade.

Should Investors Buy Value Stock Funds Today?

Investors who own core stock mutual funds or exchange-traded funds—especially those tracking a broad-market index such as the S&P 500—already have exposure to value stocks. It’s unlikely they need to add more value stocks to their portfolios, as they already have plenty.

But if you find that your portfolio’s value exposure looks light, there are many attractive value ETFs and mutual funds to choose from. Here, we’re spotlighting those that land in the US large-value Morningstar Category, with at least one share class that earns the top Morningstar Medalist Rating of Gold. (We expect such highly rated funds to outperform over a full market cycle.)

The Best Value ETFs and Mutual Funds to Buy in 2026

These large-value ETFs and mutual funds had at least one share class that earned top

1. American Funds American Mutual F-3 AFMFX
2. American Funds Washington Mutual F-3 FWMIX
3. Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value Inst/ETF AVLVX AVLV
4. Brandes U.S. Value ETF BUSA
5. Capital Group Conservative Equity ETF CGCV
6. Capital Group Dividend Value ETF CGDV
7. Columbia Dividend Income Inst3 CDDYX
8. DFA US Large Cap Value I/ETF DFLVX DFLV
9. Diamond Hill Large Cap Y DHLYX
10. Dodge & Cox Stock X DOXGX
11. Fidelity Equity-Income FEQIX
12. Fidelity High Dividend ETF FDVV
13. Fidelity Large Cap Value Index FLCOX
14. Hartford Multifactor US Equity ETF ROUS
15. iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF IUSV
16. iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF VLUE
17. iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF IWD
18. iShares S&P 500 Value ETF IVE
19. John Hancock Disciplined Value NAV JDVNX
20. JPMorgan Active Value ETF JAVA
21. MFS Active Value ETF MFSV
22. MFS Value I MEIIX
23. Natixis Oakmark N NOANX
24. Neuberger Equity Income E NBHEX
25. Oakmark U.S. Large Cap ETF OAKM
26. Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value Index SWLVX
27. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF SCHD
28. Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF SCHV
29. State Street SPDR Port S&P 500 Value ETF SPYV
30. Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index/ETF VHYAX VYM
31. Vanguard Mega Cap Value Index/ETF VMVLX
    MGV
32. Vanguard Russell 1000 Value Index/ETF VRVIX VONV
33. Vanguard S&P 500 Value Index Instl/ETF VSPVX VOOV
34. Vanguard Value Index/ETF VIVIX
    VTV
35. Vanguard Windsor Admiral VWNEX

How Do Value Mutual Funds and ETFs Work?

Value funds are bargain-hunters: They all want to buy stocks below what they’re worth and then hold on as those stocks (hopefully) reach fair value. They’re unwilling to pay a premium to invest in a stock, no matter how appealing its prospects.

However, there are many different ways that value stock managers invest. Some take what’s known as a deep-value approach, focusing on fundamental valuation benchmarks, such as price/earnings, price/book, or price/sales, and little else. Others blend low valuations with a quality screen, thereby avoiding stocks of less profitable and more troubled businesses. Some managers will go where the values are, regardless of company size, while others will skew toward large-cap stocks of large companies or, at the other end of the spectrum, small-cap stocks of small companies.

Other differences exist, too. Some value funds, for instance, place a greater emphasis on dividend-paying stocks, while other value funds don’t have dividends on the brain—income is secondary, if it’s considered at all. Some value funds maintain compact portfolios consisting of 50 or so securities, while others own hundreds of stocks. Those preferences can lead to different performance and risk profiles. And of course, some value funds are led by managers who actively pick stocks, while other value funds simply index.

The bottom line: Do your research before you buy. Our Medalist Ratings are just a starting point.

How to Find More Value Funds for the Long Term

Given their high Morningstar Medalist Ratings, we expect the top-rated large-value stock funds on our list to outperform over a full market cycle.

That being said, investors may want to expand their search for value funds beyond this list, using parameters that matter to them. Here are a few additional ways to find value ETFs and mutual funds to investigate further.

• Some investors may prefer a list of top-rated funds that invest in value stocks around the globe, not just in US names. Using the Morningstar Investor screener, select Security Type (either ETF or Mutual Fund). Find the Morningstar Category drop-down menu, and select Global Large-Stock Value (for funds that invest in both international and US large-cap value stocks) or Foreign Large Value (if you want to exclude US value stocks). Then, under Medalist Ratings, choose Gold.
• Those who’d like to expand their list to include value stock mutual funds and ETFs that earn Silver and Bronze Medalist Ratings can review our lists of Large-Value Medalist Funds.
• If you’re looking for exposure to smaller-sized value opportunities, check out our list of The Best Small-Value Funds and ETFs to Buy.