Steinroe Young Investor Fund

Marcus Singleton put $2,500 in Twentieth Century Giftrust for each of four grandchildren a few years ago. But for his fifth grandchild, now 3 months old, he plans to invest in another mutual fund, possibly the SteinRoe Young Investor fund. "In the beginning, I remember thinking what a wonderful fund Giftrust was," said Singleton, a retired aerospace engineer who lives in Pacific Palisades. "But now I think I'm going to change horses." You can't blame him.

Q. I'm interested in giving my grandchildren money for their college educations and am looking into American Century-20th Century Giftrust, which I heard was highly recommended. However, my financial advisor is trying to warn me away from this investment because whatever amount I give the fund would be deducted from my $600,000 estate tax exemption, even if the gift is less than $10,000 per year. Can this possibly be true? --M.G. * A.

SteinRoe Young Investor is helping to make a lot of kids richer. This unusual mutual fund, which targets underage shareholders, has risen 135% over the last three years. It focuses on blue-chip companies that are recognizable to children--stocks like Mattel, Microsoft and McDonald's. In particular, portfolio managers Erik Gustafson and David Brady have been going to school on the global-consumerism theme.