In Brief: Aug. 28, 2000

RISKY BUSINESS The clubby world of venture capital has gone retail. Recently a closed-end mutual fund--the meVC Draper Fisher Jurveston fund--began trading on the N.Y.S.E., allowing investors to bet on the kinds of long shots VCs do. The focus of meVC is on private and pre-IPO companies. But VCs get big cuts, and with annual fees of 2.5% and 20% on realized gains, you'd better pray one of the 12 tech companies it's invested in becomes the next Cisco.

KEEPING TABS Letting the rent go this month? That could cost you down the road. Rentport Inc. is collecting data from landlords on the timeliness of their tenants. While most are diligent about making their credit-card and car-lease payments on time, an estimated 5% slide on their rent checks, knowing it won't affect their credit rating. But now all three major credit-reporting agencies will be provided with this information. Rentport says tenants who pay their rent on time will improve their credit history. Certainly, using the data to avoid renting to potential deadbeats will help a landlord's bottom line.

FAUX FOREIGN FUNDS Here's a conundrum. Your portfolio should have some foreign exposure. Yet some major global tech funds hold big positions in American companies to mitigate risk. Ironically, that has saved their bacon this year. But if your portfolio is already heavy with U.S. tech stocks, owning one of these "international" funds may not offer the diversification you're seeking.

--By Carole Buia