Although the value strategy has been “in crisis” of late, a recent Bloomberg article suggests, “let’s not take the panic too far.”

It says, “Yes, on a relative basis, the buy-cheap philosophy has been a loser, particularly to more voguish quant strategies when deployed in a hedge fund long-short portfolio. At the same time, very few things can really be said to have done badly in the current bull market. AT least on an absolute basis, this group has enriched its owners.”

Part of the grievance of value investors, the article notes, stems from the strategy’s persistent underperformance since 2017. “Over the stretch,” it notes, “recession fears erupted periodically, crimping investor appetite for risk. In their thinking, cheap stocks are cheap for a reason, and if the economy weakens, value stocks are at danger of becoming traps. Growth is therefore favored, especially companies whose sales are perceived as resilient to economic cycles such as software makers.”

But for those who have stayed invested, the article asserts, value returns are “hard to frame as awful.”