(MONEY Magazine) – The Americas led the way. Riding an economic rebound, Latin American funds grabbed eight of the top 10 slots on our winners list for the first half of the year. Still, the numero uno fund was $18.1 million American Heritage. An ultravolatile small-company specialist that has been both a top and bottom performer in the past, the fund returned 78.6% over the six months to July 1. Launched on July 3, 1996--the same day president Boris Yeltsin's re-election set the stage for an astounding surge in Russian securities--the $56.5 million Lexington Troika Russia fund nabbed second place with a 77.9% gain.

[Text not available--table ranking top 100 stock funds by 1997 return. Table provides fund name, style, risk level, % gain (or loss) to July 1, 1997 for six months, one year, three years, and ten years, Morningstar performance (percentile rank vs. peers) yearly for 1994 to 1997, % tax efficiency, % maximum sales charge, % annual charges, Net assets ($ millions), and Telephone (800) for all funds listed.]