MUTUAL FUND ABCs

One solution:

Talk about confusion. Afteryou've hunted down the right mutualfunds, you may be asked what typeof shares you want to buy in thatfund. Most load funds have at least 2classes of fund shares, and oftenmore. Class A shares charge a frontendload of 5.5% to 6%, which canbe daunting, but may be appropriateif you're planning to leave the moneyin the fund for 5 to 10 years. Class Bshares have no front-end load, buthave higher expenses than Class Ashares, plus you can be hit with aback-end distribution fee if you sellbefore a specified period—usually 6years. Shop for no-loadfunds, but watch out for annual fees.