11.   For Christie Whitman, the pension funds have become a budget-balancing machine.

12.   Her college fund has become an emergency fund and was used last Christmas to pay for presents.

13.   In addition to providing capital, the fund will become a joint venture partner with companies it finances.

14.   In essence, the fund becomes a victim of its own success.

15.   In effect, these funds became mutual funds, only with the higher fees that are typical for hedge funds.

16.   In addition, international stock funds are becoming more popular, as sentiment about an overvalued U.S. market prompts more investors to purchase international fund shares, she said.

17.   Index funds have become popular even in sectors in which smart portfolio managers seem to have an advantage over the indexes.

18.   Is the closed-end country fund becoming a thing of the past?

19.   It is also unclear how large the fund will become.

20.   Many funds become enormous because of skilled management and good performance, she said, and there is no reason to expect that to change with size.