Year's No. 1 Fund Will Probably Remain Off-Limits to Most

There are many white-hot tech funds to choose from these days. But a couple of minor corporate reshufflings this year will keep most of you from investing in the hottest one.

With just a month left in the year, the small, $83.9 million (NGTIX Quote)Nicholas-Applegate Global Technology fund is returning 351.3% through Thursday. No other fund's return is within 100 percentage points, according to Lipper. (See our rundown of the year's top-10 contenders.)

Like a marathoner in the home stretch with a five-mile lead, the fund will almost certainly finish the year in the No. 1 spot. But it doesn't appear that retail investors will be able to buy a single share anytime soon -- if ever. ...