In Brief: Apr. 23, 2001

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DOUBLE WHAMMY Of the 2,841 mutual funds that lost money last year, 81% added insult to injury by slamming investors with capital-gains distributions. Standish Small Cap Equity was the worst offender, with a 65.4% payout on top of a 19.3% loss. On average, taxes eat more than 2.5% of returns, and starting this week fund profiles will have to disclose expected tax bites.

Funds with the Biggest Losses, Capital Gains

FUND NAME 2000 RETURN DISTRIBUTION

Apex Mid Cap Growth -76.0% 21.8% ProFunds Ultra OTC -73.7% 12.2% CS Warburg Pincus Japan Small Co. -71.8% 50.4% Internet Index Fund -70.9% 9.3% ING Internet -69.2% 19.1%

*Source: Wiesenberger/Thomson Financial

YOU WANT A WHAT? Raise. And despite a tight job market, good workers can still get one. It's costly to find new hires, so plead your case in terms of you as an investment. List past achievements and anticipate objections. (No extra cash? How about more vacation?) Also, let your boss bring up a dollar figure, says executive coach Lewis Kravitz. It could be more than you expected.

HISTORY LESSON Stocks are down, bonds are up, investors are reeling. "Don't make any reactionary moves," says Doug Lockwood, head of investor education at AmericanCentury.com The site's workshop and fund adviser help rebalance portfolios, with more than seven decades of market data to show the long-term benefits of proper asset allocation, regardless of risk.

Different Risk, Similar Return

Avg. annual return, Stocks 1926-2000 Conservative 40% 8% Moderate 60% 9.2% Aggressive 75% 10%

--By Julie Rawe