STOCK FUNDS DRUBBED

About 90% of stock mutual fundsshowed a loss last year, despite asharp upturn in the last quarter.Overall, stock fund investors sawtheir holdings drop an average of19.2% in 2002 on top of a 12.5%decline in the previous year. Technologyfunds took the worst beating,with all but about 1% of tech-orientedfunds ending the year in thered. This marked the third straightyear that virtually all tech funds finishedwith negative numbers—98.6% ended 2001 under water, and99.4% got thrown for a loss in 2000.Overall, tech funds averaged a 40.2%loss last year, despite a strong 16.8%gain in the fourth quarter. In contrast,94% of bond funds showed aprofit, with an average gain of 6.3%.