While index funds are supposed to track the performance of the market index, they do not always do so. Expenses can often alter the final results. Visit www.indexfunds.com and retrieve the ticker symbols for five S&P 500 index mutual funds. Visit www.morningstar.com and examine the fund reports for each of the index funds.

1. Calculate the total expense ratio for each fund.
2. What must have been the gross rate of return (before expenses) of each fund last year?
3. Determine which fund was the best investment before and after expenses.

Go to www.morningstar.com. From the home page select the Funds tab. From here, you can request information on an individual fund. In the search box enter the ticker JANSX, for the Janus Fund, and retrieve the quotes and reports for the fund. Do the same for the Legg Mason Value Trust, ticker LMVTX. On the left-hand side of the screen are tabs that allow you to view various components of the reports.

1. Snapshot: What is the Morningstar rating of each fund? What has been the fund's year-todate return?
2. Total returns: What are the 5- and 10-year returns of each fund and how do they compare with the return of the S&P 500?
3. Risk measures: What is the beta of each fund? What are the mean and standard deviation of returns? What are the 10-year ratings of the funds?
4. Portfolio: What two sectors' weightings are the largest of each fund? What percent of each portfolio assets are in cash?