Regardless of its promising features, the smallest market capitalization segment is often overlooked by researchers and investors. Portfolio manager Michael Corbett explains how The Perritt Micro Cap Opportunities Fund (PRCGX) and The Perritt Emerging Opportunities Fund (PREOX) utilize a diligent investment research process and strict evaluation criteria to find stocks trading at a discount to their earnings potential.

Emerging markets are fundamentally stronger than developed markets and fared much better during the global recession. Generally, emerging economies are expected to continue to benefit from internal growth drivers, including major infrastructure development and rising domestic demand. David W. Lazenby, portfolio manager of the Legg Mason Batterymarch Emerging Opportunities Trust, and his team draw on more than two decades of emerging markets experience to identify companies with above-average growth prospects and reasonable valuations.

A growing number of investors are willing to harness the wide-ranging flexibility of ETF and ETN products as a source of adequate diversification, liquidity, and risk/return potential. Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager Kevin Mahn describes how the SmartGrowth® Mutual Funds employ a systemic approach to protect downside risks, as they strive to address the diverse objectives, time horizons and risk profiles of long-term investors.

Growth can be evaluated in a number of ways but, most importantly, investors want to ensure that they can identify indicators of its sustainability. The investment team for the HighMark Geneva Mid Cap Growth Fund, seek companies that have solid business models, as well as management and financial strength to sustain growth and expand into new markets.

In general, investors are attracted to dividend paying stocks for their stable returns that tend to be less volatile than the market. For those who find such a strategy appealing there are no fewer than 800 companies paying dividends that are worth tracking, in combination with a number of real estate investment trusts and preferred stocks. Kirk Mentzer, portfolio manager of the Huntington Dividend Capture Fund, explains how the fund allocates assets across these market segments to generate stable returns.

Investing in emerging markets does not have to be high-risk investing. With proper temperament and investment discipline, emerging markets can generate higher-than-average returns. Rajiv Jain of the Virtus Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund looks for companies that have predictable business models and protects his downside by acquiring these companies when they are trading significantly below their intrinsic values.