Certain things will not change at the funds, which will continue to follow a value investing style, seeking out beaten-down stocks that have been all but abandoned on Wall Street.

When it does, many investors bail out, but bargain hunters jump in, betting that the beaten-down stock will rise quickly again.

Those still holding beaten-down stocks also wonder how they will fare if the indexes do take a dive.

"No bad news is good news for a beaten-down stock."

Some rally in beaten-down stocks was to be expected after the market hit bottom last October, but the move has been surprising in both its duration and extent.

"It gets you into beaten-down stocks, which is not a bad idea," he said.

One beaten-down stock for which he has high hopes is Romac International, which offers outsourcing of information technology, financial and accounting services.

Some strategists think the extreme stock market disparities of today will soon ease and that beaten-down stocks will recover.

Mr. Hegarty of Commerzbank, agreed, although he said he had not yet seen signs of bottom fishing for beaten-down stocks.

In the 1980's, these brothers, based in Fort Worth, became legends thanks to their savvy investments in beaten-down stocks like Walt Disney.