A Sensible Fee

Part of the fuss about mutual fundshas to do with market timing. Markettimers jump into mutual funds when theythink prices may rise and jump out whenthey do. Unlike late trading, which isclearly illegal, market timing is in a grayarea. Most fund companies have internalrules that forbid it, but investigators arealleging that those rules are being bent,often by a fund's executives and managers.If you're a buy-and-hold fundinvestor, look for a fund that slaps aredemption fee on rapid-fire traders tomake market timing less attractive. JohnBogle, founder and former chief chairman of Vanguard Group, has proddedthe SEC to draft rules that would forcefunds to impose a 2% redemption fee onshares held for less than 30 days.