You can't predict disaster, but you can anticipate risks

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2006 | by John Waggoner

As you pick among the wreckage of your portfolio, you might be asking, "How could I have known my fund would be hit this hard?" Strictly speaking, you couldn't have. Life is full of uncertainties. Even when you cross the street, you can get smacked by the express bus to West Eternity.

But you can measure the risks you're taking when you buy a fund -- and if you've owned a stock fund over the past few weeks, you now know why that's important. So let's look at several ways to tell just how risky a fund is.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is fond of pointing out that a fund's past performance is no indication of future returns. True. Earthquakes, wars and alien invaders from the Planet Zog could all knock the stuffing out of your portfolio.

But you can't...