The fund lagged behind the S.& P. 500 in 1997 and 1998, when growth stocks were hot.

Yet the fund has lagged behind the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index through that period.

The fund lagged behind the average by 4.5 percentage points last year.

But recently, that fund and the other Vista funds have lagged behind their peers in performance.

While domestic funds lagged behind their foreign competitors in some respects, it was still a good year for them.

But the fund still lags behind the level of its most successful campaign in 1991-1992, when more than $5 million was raised.

In the last 12 months, the $3 billion fund substantially lagged behind the overall market.

By contrast, the most diversified funds lagged behind the market.

Yet, as a result, his fund can lag behind when oil prices rise.

So far, the fund is lagging behind the index by more than nine percentage points.