Active management proves successful during turbulent market cycle

The Heartland Value Plus Fund, which holds shares of 40 small companies, has outperformed the Russell 2000 Value Index over the past five years, with a focus on limiting downside participation in the stock market. The fund's managers have a mandate to invest at least 70% in dividend-paying stocks and look for companies in sound financial condition. The fund is overweight in the materials, industrials, healthcare, and consumer staples sectors, while underweight consumer discretionary and financial stocks. The fund's co-manager, Brad Evans, believes that small-cap stocks with relatively modest dividend yields tend to outperform those with high yields over time.