Reese: Don't Shun Europe

In his latest column for Forbes.com, Validea CEO John Reese says that investors who have been fleeing Europe amid the continent’s debt crisis are overlooking some big bargains in European stocks.

Reese notes that some investors with strong track records — including Steven Romick and David Herro — have been scooping up European shares while others are ditching them. “It’s not surprising to see these top investors snatching up stocks that others are running from,” Reese writes. “We humans are emotional creatures; when things are good we tend to get overly positive, and when things are bad we tend to get overly negative. Because of that, in times of great fear investors often overreact to the downside, dumping stocks in whatever industry or sector are the source of the fear, without regard to valuation or the underlying quality of the firm’s business. And the best investors historically have been the ones with the ability — and courage — to identify good, quality stocks that are getting beaten down too far because overreaction.”

“Remember,” Reese says, “valuation and expectations are the key here. In order for these types of stocks to make some nice gains, things don’t need to suddenly turn rosy; they just need to turn out to be a little bit better than expected.” He looks at five European stocks that his Guru Strategies — each of which is based on the approach of a different investing great — are high on right now. Among them: Swedish auto safety product maker Autoliv, which gets high marks from his Kenneth Fisher-based model. To read the full article and see all the picks, click here.