'Value' Managers Dispute the Term

If the fund industry's value managers agree on anything, it's that "value" has ceased to be a useful term, in and of itself.

"I think we're growth investors," said Marty Whitman, chairman of Third Avenue Funds and manager of the (TAVFX Quote)Third Avenue Value fund, at the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago last week.

Whitman pointed to the well-capitalized bank stocks he's favored in the past as an example. His fund paid 80% of book value when these stock prices were depressed. But because of overall good financials, the companies recovered, and so did the stocks. "We sold them for 10 times their book value. Most bank stocks sell for no more than two or three times their book value." ...