The fund sponsor normally takes 20 percent and the brokerage gets the remaining 35 to 50 percent.

Some fund sponsors, deciding that a top performer can sell itself, drop the sales charge, or load.

Investors may also want to examine how much capital the fund sponsor has available to it.

The price in the offering also signals the fund sponsors' intent.

Any deferred sales charges are paid to the fund sponsor.

Not surprisingly, fund sponsors rarely eliminate a fund with a good record.

Indeed, the scope of the proposals worried some fund sponsors.

In each case, the fund sponsors made up the loss rather than allow the defaults to affect their customers.

But many mutual fund sponsors interviewed this week said they had noticed the trend.

Interviews with fund sponsors indicate that the trend continued in September.