NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Fund managers are having such a sluggish year that you might want to check their pulse -- the average domestic stock fund is down 0.4 percent this year, following one of the worst years on record in 2001.

Stock picking is as tough as ever, as Wall Street digs itself out of a recession amid a wave of bad earnings news. Fund managers are struggling to keep up.

So we decided to put some well-known funds to the same test we're playing with stocks. It's called Hot or Not?, based on the Hotornot.com Web site, at which people send photos of themselves to be rated by the community of Hotornot judges. (Click here for more on our latest list of hot and cold stocks.)

We don't care about a fund manager's pecs, but we do think he should be earning his keep with market-beating returns. Here are five funds and how they rank on the Hot or Not scorecard.  

This is America's mutual fund, one of the largest on Wall Street and Fidelity's flagship. At the helm since 1996 is Bob Stansky, perhaps one of the most closely-watched stock pickers. With $75.3 billion in assets, the fund is down 0.89 percent year to date as of March 14, according to Morningstar, versus a 0.68 percent gain for the S&P 500. Worse yet, it's getting beat by 72 percent of the funds in its large-blend category.

Magellan's biggest problem right now is Stansky's bet on Tyco International (TYCO: Research, Estimates), which is down about 40 percent this year. Tyco has been fighting rumors about accounting irregularities, stung by the fallout from Enron. But Stansky feels so strongly about the stock that it is his fourth-largest stake, representing about 2.7 percent of the portfolio as of a February filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Once a darling of Wall Street, this tech-heavy fund feasted on high-P/E stocks but suffered mightily after the Nasdaq fell from its peak in early 2000. Janus has since expanded its portfolio into other names such as Boeing and Walgreen, but is struggling to find its footing. (Click here to read "Shock Therapy at Janus," about the tough times facing the fund company.)

The fund is down 0.8 percent as of March 14, according to Morningstar. The dismal returns in the past two years have also ruined its three-year record -- now it's got an annualized loss of 5.2 percent over that time. The red ink has inspired some financial planners to recommend 401(k) investors find an alternative.

One of the few bright lights this year is CGM Focus, a small blend fund that is the third-best performing domestic stock fund on Wall Street, according to Morningstar. It has numbers that any fund manager would kill for: it is up 13.49 percent this year through March 14, putting it first in its category. It also has the No. 1 ranking over the trailing one year, up a healthy 72.8 percent.

Manager Ken Heebner has the ability to short stocks, though he said recently that he's keeping the portfolio in long positions. Among his favorite stocks is Beazer Homes USA (BZH: Research, Estimates), a designer and maker of single-family homes. The stock has more than doubled in the past year, from a 52-week low of $35 a share to a current price around $83.

This is an ultra-risky tech fund that gained a lot of attention after it earned nearly 300 percent in 1999. But lately it's delivering truly terrible returns.

The largest of the fleet of tech funds managed by Garrett Van Wagoner, Emerging Growth invests in software, telecoms and networking stocks. It is losing 21 percent this year, and in the past two years has lost about 80 percent, according to Morningstar. Analyst Chris Traulsen attributed the carnage to bad bets in software and private equities that didn't pan out. (Some funds invest in companies before they go public. The payoff can be huge, but so are the risks.)

This year, two of its top stocks have been hit hard. Software company Embarcadero Technologies (EMBT: Research, Estimates), is down about 34 percent this year, while Stellent (STEL: Research, Estimates), in computer networking, is down 41 percent.

This isn't the sexiest fund in the world, but manager Preston Athey is a solid stock picker who has earned a decent 7.8 percent return this year, according to Morningstar. It is a diversified portfolio with its top weightings in financials, industrial and consumer companies.

For people who want stability, this is a good place to park your money. Small-Cap Value likes to stick with its stocks, with a low turnover rate of 14 percent, Morningstar said.

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During the heavy market losses of the last two years the fund not only survived, but it walloped the S&P by 20 percent to 30 percent. It earned a healthy 22.2 percent in 2000 and 10.3 percent last year. That has helped it hang onto an enviable double-digit record over 1, 3, 5 and 10-year periods.

Among the top holdings are insurance company Brown & Brown (BRO: Research, Estimates), which has doubled in price in the past year, trading around $29 a share.