On a five-year basis, he added, almost 90 percent of its funds outperform their peers in the database of Lipper, the fund tracker.

"This year, it's going to be even bigger than last year," said Tom Roseen, senior research analyst at Lipper, the fund tracker.

In 2006 alone, the average European stock fund delivered total returns of nearly 34 percent, according to Morningstar, the fund tracker.

Which is why the fund trackers at Lipper Analytical Services have added 163 growth funds to their data bases just since the end of 1996.

By comparison, the median is just $16 billion for the large-cap funds identified by Morningstar Inc., the fund trackers in Chicago.

The average general domestic stock fund returned 6.8 percent in 2005, according to Morningstar, the fund tracker.

The average international equity index fund has soared 33 percent, annualized, for the last three years through March 31, according to Morningstar, the fund tracker.

The average general domestic equity fund returned 6.2 percent in the quarter, according to Morningstar, the mutual fund tracker.

The S.E.C.'s efforts could also affect how fund trackers use past performance data.

Among all domestic stock funds, including sector portfolios, the average quarterly loss was also 2.9 percent, according to Morningstar, the fund tracker.