Both are "value" funds, which buy out-of-favor stocks with low price-earnings ratios.

Still, some investors may have the stomach to buy some of these small, cheap, out-of-favor stocks that are pure plays on air-pollution control.

Buying out-of-favor stocks and holding them for long periods occasionally produces a home run.

They weight the portfolio with out-of-favor stocks in a neglected sector and wait for the business cycle to restore those holdings to respectability.

"In the 60's and 70's, I was a pure contrarian, buying out-of-favor stocks," he said.

In fact, such out-of-favor stocks as Subaru usually are worth a second look.

One is buying cheap, out-of-favor stocks that stay that way or become even cheaper.

"Wait and see," he said, noting that the fund emphasizes out-of-favor stocks, which can be found in both small and big companies.

As a self-styled "contrary" investor, he often picks out-of-favor stocks.

But it is safe to say that value investors share a contrarian bent: they buy out-of-favor stocks and sell them when they become popular.