Index funds have proved particularly useful for buying large-company stocks in the very efficient stock market in the United States.

This means even those managers who have been investing in large-company stocks recently have been tarred by investors' bias against smaller companies.

Among the five advisers, the top performer for the quarter is reducing his stake in large-company stocks.

For example, in the 1970's, both intermediate-term government bonds and long-term corporate bonds outperformed large-company stocks.

He has been finding large-company stocks like Merck or Coca-Cola too expensive for his taste.

No one knows when or what is going to turn things around for large-company stocks.

In fact, while Morningstar classifies his fund in the midcap value category, Mr. Weitz also scoops up small- and large-company stocks.

Ned Davis Research found recently that through June 30, dividend payers in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index of large-company stocks outperformed nondividend stocks.

We like to buy large-company stocks when they're out of favor.

But some stock pickers see that strength as a worrying signal that large-company stocks may have become too expensive for the time being.