How have these fund newsletters performed?

Telephone-switching is so widespread these days that a number of mutual fund newsletters specialize in making recommendations about when - and where - to switch.

And mutual fund newsletters today are offering something for everyone.

The average portfolio recommended by a pure mutual fund newsletter had an 8.5 percent annual rate of return over the eight years ended in August.

The difference is statistically negligible based on the size of the study, which included 44 fund newsletters and 80 others.

As you might expect, the fund newsletters posted returns in a tighter range.

When risk is factored in, however, the fund newsletters' performance improves sharply.

A shareholder/director of three mutual fund companies publishes a mutual fund newsletter recommending funds from those groups.

There is an avalanche - a paper one - of mutual fund newsletters.

The track record of a fund newsletter is a function of two distinct factors.