(MONEY Magazine) – Q I'm confused about the terms used to describe mutual funds. You hear about aggressive growth funds, growth funds, growth and income funds, balanced funds, equity income funds, flexible income funds, global and international funds, sector funds and value funds. What are the differences? James C. Tooley Kent, Wash. A You're right. This fund-naming business has gotten out of hand. It's hard to tell one fund from another, judging by the names. So to clarify things, I have written a Mutual Fund Rap (hey, this is the '90s) that describes the main types of stock funds and stock-plus-bond funds. With no apologies to 2 Live Crew, here goes:

AGGRESSIVE GROWTH FUNDS buy the stock of companies so hot Their stock price rockets up, and your investment gets a shot; GROWTH FUNDS, on the other hand, like growing companies That may not gain much this month but, in time, are sure to please; A fund that's GROWTH AND INCOME buys those growing issues too, But mixes them with stocks that pay high dividends to you; A BALANCED FUND guards principal by adding bonds, you see, Its stock-to-bond proportion? 60-40, typically; Compared with those above, EQUITY INCOME FUNDS are boring, Their stocks pay solid dividends, but leave investors snoring; For good payouts from stocks and bonds, choose FLEXIBLE INCOME, It keeps its yields up even if the market's dropping some; Though funds named INTERNATIONAL and GLOBAL sound the same, The first hunts stock abroad, but for the second, the U.S. is fair game; SECTOR FUNDS sink money in a single industry like gold, health care, utilities or financial companies; VALUE's not a fund per se, just an investing style: You buy up stocks that others have neglected for a while; And now if fund names still don't seem as plain as ABC, Then stick to simpler instruments -- CDs or Treasuries.

Q My wife has inherited a piece of property in Italy. We plan to sell it and bring the cash back to the U.S. We have heard, however, that Italian law forbids the export of some types of wealth. Would this affect us? M.E. Rogers Emeryville, Calif. A Probably not. The Italian government relaxed its rules last year, making the export of money relatively easy. For sums of up to 20 million lira (about $14,500), you simply take the money to almost any Italian bank and ask that it be transferred by wire to your bank in the States. The fee will run 0.15% or so; the money will arrive in two to seven days. If, as seems likely, your wife's estate exceeds that amount, you must take the further step of proving that the money was obtained lawfully and that all Italian taxes have been paid. You can do so by showing the bank copies of any sales contracts. But to make things easier for yourself, I recommend you ask the attorney who handles your sale to take care of the wire transfer too. For a list of Italian attorneys, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Office of Citizens Consular Services, Room 4815, State Department, Washington, D.C. 20520.

Q I am a visually impaired person with an associate's degree in computer science from a community college, and I am having trouble finding a job. Each week, I send out about six resumes in response to help-wanted ads. Each resume includes a cover letter explaining that I am blind but that I have equipment to modify any computer so that I can use it. Still, no one will give me an interview. Any ideas on how I might get in the door? Blaine LaChance Middlefield, Ohio A Don't blame your difficulty solely on your disability. Jobs in the computer field are tight right now -- just as they are in many trades. Nevertheless, here are some useful tips from Rami Rabby, co-author with Diane Croft of Take Charge!, a job-hunting manual for the blind ($23.95 in Braille, floppy disk or audiocassettes from National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen St., Boston, Mass. 02115; 617-266-6160): 1) Join a local branch of the Data Processing Association and other computer clubs whose monthly meetings will help you chew the fat with the byte crowd; 2) Write to directors of data processing at companies where you would like to work and ask for a 20-minute informational interview to discuss how you might get a job in their industry (if you're impressive, they'll remember you when a spot opens up); 3) Network with other sight-impaired people through computer systems like CompuServe (800-848-8199), which has a special forum for people with disabilities. In addition, don't mention that you are blind in a resume or cover letter, as you have been doing until now, because you might get screened out on that basis alone. But once you have a scheduled interview, Croft suggests that, as a courtesy, you call a few days beforehand and inform the employer. She says, for example: ''Invite the employer to think of any questions he or she may have about whether your disability might affect your work, so that you can discuss them when you get together.'' Rabby and Croft also recommend that you try seeking leads and advice from the following national groups that offer job counseling to people with visual impairments: The Lighthouse (800 Second Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017; 212-808-0077); the American Foundation for the Blind (15 W. 16th St., New York, N.Y. 10011; 212-620-2000); and a group called Job Opportunities for the Blind (1800 Johnson St., Baltimore, Md. 21230; 800-638-7518).

Q In 1988, I bought 10 shares of Sharp Corp. at $93 a share for my tax-deferred retirement account at Paine Webber. This is a foreign security, so rather than buying the shares outright I purchased them in the form of an American Depositary Receipt (ADR). Recently, when I asked my broker to sell, I was told that Japan had changed its rules; it would trade this stock only in 100-share lots, and my 10 shares could not be sold. Am I stuck? Frances M. Collette Miami A Your broker seems to be mistaken; we couldn't find evidence of any recent rule change in Japan. Maybe he was referring to the fact that Sharp Corp. shares are traded in lots of 1,000 on the Tokyo exchange, so American brokers traditionally deal in 100-ADR lots (one ADR is 10 shares). That doesn't mean you can't sell your lonely ADR, though. Both Fidelity and Charles Schwab will handle the sale, which must go through several complicated transfers, for a commission and fees of $100 or so. To save you the trouble of having to move your ADR to another brokerage firm, I was going to advise you to get on the horn with Paine Webber and browbeat your broker into selling it. In this case, though, MONEY reporter Frances Marshman already did that for you. So relax. Sometime before the cherry blossoms bloom, the money should arrive in your account.