Playing M&A Through Mutual Funds

Though market indices have been hitting record lows for the year, one area is seeing new highs: mergers and acquisitions.

So far in 2000, around $1.65 trillion worth of merger and acquisition deals have been announced, according to Thomson Financial Securities Data. That's a record, topping 1998, the previous record year, when $1.63 trillion in deals were reported.

The question is: How can an individual investor make money from the trend? ...