When stocks stagger, focus on the basics - Oak Value Fund

Trying to find underpriced jewels and then holding on to them is the strategy of thousands of mutual funds. Among them is the 14-year-old Oak Value Fund. True to the value mantra, its managers partly follow Buffett's lead — his Berkshire Hathaway is the fund's single largest holding, amounting to 9% of its $135 million in assets.

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Value investing often comes into vogue when there is turmoil in the market, and Oak Value has been hitting its mark lately.

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After lagging the market badly for several years, the fund is up nearly 8% year to date, surpassing the S&P 500's return by almost three percentage points. Over the past 12 months, Oak Value has surged a more eye-catching 22%, about six points ahead of the index.

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“Quality began to matter again,” said Oak Value CEO Larry Coats.