Q. I am 76 and recently sold a four-apartment house and thus have $80,000 to invest. I have a financial adviser who recommends mutual funds in the Phoenix family. As I've never invested except in CDs and money market funds, I am not astute about the market, and I am also worried that money invested in the market is not insured, as FDIC covers my money in the bank. Although my financial adviser seems quite helpful and assures me he is looking out for my interests, I am wondering if he has a stake in steering me toward Phoenix?

R.G., Rochester, N.H.

A. Most of the Phoenix funds either have an up-front sales charge of 4.75 percent or have deferred loads and higher ongoing fees. Normally the lion's share of these fees would accrue to the salesperson -- in this case your adviser.

So the adviser does indeed have a stake in steering you toward such funds. On the other hand, if you went to an adviser and insisted you wanted to buy no-load funds, he or she would doubtless tell you they would be happy to oblige -- but you would have to pay separately for their work. Thus if you want an adviser's advice, you would face a charge one way or another.

But the larger question seems to me that you may be uncomfortable with the risks associated with mutual funds and are perhaps expressing your discomfort through your focus on the sales charges. There's nothing wrong with a financial adviser being paid for his work, but not if you are being steered into investments that are inappropriate for a person in your situation or that carry too much risk for your comfort.

My suggestion is to carefully read the literature about the funds proposed. The Phoenix fund family is dominated by stock-oriented funds, although it does offer a few such as Phoenix US Government Securities or Phoenix Multi-Sector Fixed-Income funds that might be appropriate to you. Read the prospectus discussion of risk in these funds, and then look over the long-term records. Pay particular attention to the down years, such as 1994, and decide whether you would be comfortable living through such a market, even though your research will show you that both funds recovered quite nicely in 1995. Then turn to the prospectus discussion of fees, and you'll see the variety of costs you will face if you make the investment. In general, you might consider it unwise to buy a fund with significant sales charges unless you are certain you will be able to leave the money untouched for at least five years.

If you decide you'll only be comfortable with an investment such as the FDIC-insured CDs and the money markets you have been using, I suggest you politely tell your adviser that you've decided to stick with the banks.