Assets are for individual share classes. This gives you assurance that, for example, the person who racked up sterling results is still in charge. Minimum investment is what it takes to open an account. For subsequent investments and for IRAs, it's usually lower. Some funds also accept lower initial amounts if you sign up for regular investments via electronic transfer from your bank account.
Maximum load is the highest sales fee for purchasing shares.
None means the fund charges no sales or redemption fees. Sales charges are not included when calculating total returns in these tables. But the shorter the time you own a fund, the greater the impact of the sales charge on your total return. Expense ratio is the percentage of your assets in a fund you'll pay, measured on an annual basis, to cover management fees and other expenses. Expenses are subtracted before total return is figured.