It’s extremely common to hear investment commentators talk about “growth” and “value” as though they are polar opposites. But Validea CEO John Reese says not to buy that false notion.

“When it comes to investing’s great ‘either/or’ – that is, the growth or value debate – you can have your cake and eat it, too,” Reese writes for Canada’s Globe and Mail. “That’s because the great growth versus value debate is, in fact, a false choice. … Confining yourself to either value stocks or growth stocks is only limiting your portfolio’s potential. At certain times, you’ll be able to find more attractive growth-type picks; at other times, the market will be offering more value-type plays. Having a portfolio of growth-focused and value-focused stocks can also help smooth your returns over the long haul, since the two styles take turns leading the market.”

Reese says the “fallacy of the growth-versus-value notion goes even deeper. … That’s because implicit in the debate is the idea that any given stock is either a value stock or a growth stock, and that’s just not true.” He highlights a pair of stocks that currently get approval from the growth strategy he bases on the writings of renowned quantitative investor James O’Shaughnessy — and a separate value strategy he bases on O’Shaughnessy’s writings. One of them: AXA, a Paris-based financial company that’s involved in life insurance, property and casualty insurance, asset management and banking.