1.   Mr Bruce says the fund bought the zeros several years ago in anticipation of an economic recession.

2.   Which is, of course, why funds with good ratings would buy them.

3.   And more recently, the Nicholas funds even bought some technology stocks.

4.   At that point, according to its charter, the Vanguard Small-Cap Index funds sell the stock and the Mid-Cap Index funds buy it.

5.   Because index funds simply buy and hold shares that make up an index, they have lower operating costs and trading fees, which also helps boost returns.

6.   Both funds exclusively buy the stocks of fast-growing companies, which typically command the highest relative prices.

7.   Both funds had bought IBM at much higher prices and added shares on the way down.

8.   A spokesman said that it was unclear whether Waksal violated the rule because it is not legally certain whether redeeming his shares from the fund constituted buying them.

9.   A spokeswoman for Strong said that after those securities matured at full value, the fund did not buy any more Korean securities.

10.   Although bond funds buy the new securities, their older holdings weigh down their returns.