31.   On the other hand, small funds tend to become large, perhaps in part because of that very performance advantage.

32.   One reason for the poor relative returns is high-turnover funds tend to have higher trading costs and that hurts returns over time, according to Morningstar.

33.   Over a reasonable period of time -- say a decade -- the better bond funds tend to show very little change in principal value.

34.   Over all, though, the fund tends to hold on to its stocks.

35.   Over longer time periods, however, gold funds tend to be more volatile and provide a lower return.

36.   Real estate funds tend to invest in real estate investment trusts like Spieker, Reckson and Arden.

37.   Similarly, growth-and-income funds tend to hold up better than growth-only portfolios.

38.   Since index funds tend to meet those characteristics, the position in Vanguard Index Growth is appropriate.

39.   Small cap funds tend to have greater differences in returns, meaning an investor could have more of them in a portfolio.

40.   Small, aggressive funds tend to buy such thinly traded securities more than large-cap stock funds do.