Annual Mutual Fund Review & Outlook : 1993 Stock Fund Roundup

Here are average total returns for 22 categories of stock mutual funds, ranked by fourth-quarter 1993 returns. A fund’s total return includes dividends plus or minus the net change in price. Compare your funds’ returns for the quarter and returns for the year to the averages in their respective categories.

Category (No. of funds) 4th qtr. 1993 5 years Latin American (9) +28.96% +57.05% N/A Pacific (37) +26.62 +63.81 +66.80% Gold (34) +24.78 +80.87 +43.45 International; foreign stocks only (161) +11.46 +39.40 +62.48 Global; U.S. and foreign stocks (86) +9.62 +31.04 +69.24 Health-biotechnology (16) +9.25 +3.38 +179.61 Canadian (3) +8.79 +34.33 +31.58 European (33) +7.99 +25.95 +50.24 Global; small company (15) +7.82 +37.52 +82.25 Specialty-miscellaneous (28) +4.49 +23.16 +104.62 Small-company growth (221) +2.61 +16.94 +121.43 Environmental (11) +2.43 +3.37 +57.76 Growth and income (326) +2.25 +11.54 +86.66 Growth (489) +2.24 +10.56 +99.16 Capital appreciation (166) +1.93 +15.23 +107.86 Equity-income (96) +1.25 +13.31 +77.98 Science and technology (23) +1.10 +24.25 +145.51 Real estate (9) -1.02 +22.63 +67.34 Utilities (64) -2.82 +13.08 +92.78 Natural resources (28) -3.45 +22.94 +55.30 Financial services (14) -3.75 +16.20 +161.82 Japanese (7) -12.22 +22.94 -0.29 General stock fund average (1,336) +2.19 +12.53 +97.93 S&P; 500 index, including dividends +2.32 +10.06 +96.96

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Top Funds, 4th Quarter

Fund & Return M. Stanley Instl. Asian Eq.: +49.56% Fidelity S. East Asia: +47.08 M. Stanley Asian Growth A: +43.71 M. Stanley Asian Growth B: +43.57 Wright EquiFund-Hong Kong: +41.38 Merrill Lynch Dragon A: +40.93 Merrill Lynch Dragon B: +40.63 Fidelity Emerging Markets: +39.73 Eaton Vance China Growth: +39.14 Lexington Strat. Invest.: +38.89 Average stock fund: +2.19

Worst Funds, 4th Quarter

Fund & Return DFA Group Japan Small Co.: -23.93% Met Life-SS Global Energy D: -16.42 Met Life-SS Global Energy B: -16.34 Met Life-SS Global Energy A: -16.31 Met Life-SS Global Energy C: -16.28 Capstone Nikko Japan: -15.78 The Japan Fund: -14.32 T. Rowe Price Intl. Japan: -13.46 Fidelity Select Natural Gas: -12.97 Fidelity Inv. Trust Japan: -12.62 Average stock fund: +2.19

Top Funds, ’93

Fund & Return Lexington Strat. Invest.: +269.78% U.S. Gold Shares: +123.92 Van Eck Intl. Investors: +113.41 Fidelity Select Prec. Metal: +111.64 M. Stanley Instl. Asian Eq.: +105.70 Keystone Precious Metals: +101.89 Blanchard Precious Metals: +100.42 Excel Midas Gold Shares: +98.76 Dean Witter Pacific Growth: +94.71 Vanguard Specialized Gold: +93.36 Average stock fund: +12.53

Worst Funds, ’93

Fund & Return Frontier Equity Fund: -24.78% Pilgrim Corp. Utilities: -17.68 Dean Witter Cap. Growth: -9.01 Invesco Strat. Health: -8.41 Excel Value Fund: -7.85 Steadman Oceanographic: -7.81 Jensen Portfolio: -7.27 UST Master Environmental: -7.22 Yacktman Fund: -6.58 Pasadena Investment Growth: -5.87 Average stock fund: +12.53

Source: Lipper Analytical Services