(MONEY Magazine) – You want all mutual fund prospectuses to contain a summary of a fund's risk. That is the view, at least, of 271 of the 305 readers who sent in the Money poll that accompanied June's "What You Need to Know About Fund Risk." The poll is an abbreviated version of the Securities and Exchange Commission survey to determine how funds can disclose risks in ways individual investors can quickly grasp. Most respondents to Money's poll said historical performance and the scope of a fund's investments would be the most helpful items in evaluating risk. They also said graphs would be the best format for presenting risk information. Virtually everyone (301 of the 305 respondents) said that, in choosing a fund, they compare riskiness against "other funds with the same investment objective," while only about two-thirds said they compare it against "other funds of all types" or "alternative investments, such as bank CDs or individual stocks." We have delivered your poll answers to the SEC.

TO HELP US EVALUATE RISK, MUTUAL FUNDS should provide as much information as possible in plain language. We are not as familiar with technical jargon as stockbrokers are. BERNARD SCHER Margate, Fla.

MOST IMPORTANT, WE SHOULD BE TOLD the names and ages of portfolio managers, the experience of the managers and the amount of time a manager has been in charge of the particular fund we are considering purchasing. Also, when a fund changes portfolio managers, it should be mandatory that this information is conveyed to shareholders, along with a professional history of the new manager. JOHN METTE Las Vegas

WE NEED CLEARER WARNINGS ABOUT how much a fund has invested in instruments that, under certain conditions, can lose a lot of money. Examples: derivatives, junk bonds and certain foreign investments like those in the Mexican market that suffered huge losses when the peso was devalued last year. GERALD LASH Kinnelon, N.J.

A SAVER'S LAMENT

THANK YOU FOR APRIL'S "LEARNING TO Live on What You Make." As a 31-year-old "saver," I wonder about all those middle-class people in their thirties and forties who don't save enough for retirement. If I have to pay, through higher taxes, for them to survive later when they are "living the good life now," I would feel penalized for having done the right thing. CYNTHIA V. TARADASH Norwood, Mass.

IN THE HUMAN INTEREST

AS A MONEY READER I HAVE BENEFITED from your stock and mutual fund tips and have enjoyed your stories about how real people invest their money. But I was pleased to find that June's In Your Interest column didn't contain anything about money and instead told about an unknown hero of the Oklahoma bombing. I had heard about a nurse who died helping the rescue workers, but I never heard any details about her life. Thank you for honoring Rebecca Anderson by telling your readers how she gave so unselfishly out of love for people. As an Oklahoman, my heart goes out to all of the families who lost loved ones, to the courageous rescue workers and especially to the Anderson family. The rest of us can get back to what we were doing before the blast (for example, reading tips on the market). The lives of the victims and those close to them have been changed forever. I hope we don't forget what they have gone through and realize that it could have happened anywhere to any of us. Thanks for your interest in not only money. JANET ALLEN Sugar Land, Texas

REBECCA ANDERSON'S HEROISM WAS MAGNIFIED by her decision in life to donate her organs when she died. With more than 40,000 Americans awaiting an organ transplant, altruistic acts such as Rebecca's are well worth commending. JENNY K. MILLER Director of education Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates Lexington, Ky.

SELF-RELIANCE WITH COMPASSION

I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND MONEY FOR its thoughtful -- and sobering -- assessment of the financial challenges facing Americans in the years ahead (May's Special Report, "Today's Key to Success: Self-Reliance"). While underscoring the importance of self-reliance in today's economy, your report also exposes the fallacy of assuming that poverty will disappear if government simply withdraws support for families in need. Indeed, as you conclude, the welfare reform proposal approved by the House of Representatives "will increase the nation's poverty rate, not decrease it."

As an advocate of true welfare reform in my own state, I agree that the best way to help welfare recipients become self-sufficient is through meaningful job and educational opportunities. As a governor and former congressman, I have promoted policies designed to end reliance on welfare. But I cannot support a strategy that would leave more people in poverty, resulting in higher costs for states, local governments and our nation as a whole. MIKE LOWRY Governor, State of Washington

YOUR SPECIAL REPORT IS VERY WELL DONE. The Maryland Department of Human Resources, with whom you worked on segments regarding poverty and welfare, was very pleased with your sensitivity to our citizens and your concern for capturing the real context of people's lives. PARRIS N. GLENDENING Governor, State of Maryland

WE AT MERRILL LYNCH HEARTILY ENDORSE your central theme -- that self-reliance will be the key to personal success and realization of the American dream. If Money's special report helps focus the national debate on the need for tax and other public policies that encourage rather than penalize saving and investment, then you will have performed a valuable public service indeed. Daniel P. Tully Chairman and chief executive officer Merrill Lynch New York City

A CALL TO STOP THE IRS SNOOPS

YOUR JUNE ARTICLE "HOW TO SURVIVE THE New Nosier Audits" offers sufficient reason for the end of the income tax system and the IRS. All Americans should be simply outraged at the idea of having to justify their standard of living to the IRS.

A flat tax or consumption tax would be infinitely fairer and simpler for everyone. DAVID L. MOSELEY Ruskin, Fla.

CORRECTIONS

-- June's Smart Spending item "One Adult + One Kid = One Great Trip" listed an incorrect telephone number for Embassy Suites. The correct number is 800-362-2779.

-- The Fund of the Month section of June's Fund Watch mistakenly described Breathe Right nasal strips as "chemically treated Band-Aid-like fiberglass strips." CNS Inc., the company that makes Breathe Right strips, says the strips are neither chemically treated nor made of fiberglass, but are "constructed of multiple layers of adhesive, backing and semirigid springy strips."

-- The Fund of the Month section of July's Fund Watch listed an incorrect telephone number for the Loomis Sayles Bond fund. The correct number is 800-633-3330.

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