president, Financial Focus Advisory Services

Technical Difficulties

Links: www.stocksandtaxes.com

managed, Intrepid Capital Fund

MoneyLife Market Call

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chief investment officer, Global Financial Private Capital

MoneyLife Market Call

Links: www.gf-pc.com

author

Big Interview

Links: www.richardduncaneconomics.com

president, New Constructs

MoneyLife Market Call

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president, North American Securities Administrators Assoc.

Big Interview

Links: www.nasaa.org

managing director and partner, HighTower Advisors, Bethesda

Economy Watch

On Twitter: @HighTowerAdvisor

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manager, Villere Balanced Fund (VILLX)

MoneyLife Market Call

Links: www.villere.com

senior financial analyst, BankRate.com

Survey Says

On Twitter: @BankRateGreg

Links: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/free-credit-union-checking-still-thrives.aspx

manager, Baird Small Cap Value

MoneyLife Market Call

On Twitter: @rwbaird.com

Links: www.bairdfunds.com

ShortHeadline: Michelle Stevens, manager of the Baird Small Cap Value fund (BSVSX) said that smaller companies are particularly attractive right now because they face less international exposure to the problems that are plaguing the global economy.

DetailInformation: In the MoneyLife Market Call interview with Chuck Jaffe, MarketWatch senior columnist, Stevens acknowledged her small-cap bias, but noted that “I do think, particularly right now, [small “cap stocks] are more attractive than large caps. That is counter to what some people are saying, but if you look at large-caps “ and yes they are cheap on the surface in terms of price-to-earnings ratios and some other metrics “ they are getting there in ways that maybe don’t deserve a multiple. “We’ve seen an awful lot of cost-savings out of large companies,” she said, “they have gotten a lot of earnings growth from things like currency translation, and the underlying revenue growth for many of those businesses is not all that inspiring.” In small caps, she noted, investors get better organic revenue growth, which is what matters when trying to build a solid multiple in this market. “The other element we like is that small-caps are much more domestic-focused,” she said. “You’ve got about half the exposure to international revenue in domestic small-cap stocks -- so it’s roughly 18% versus 35% for large-caps -- and in this market we like that because we’re not very bullish on growth prospects for the EuroZone and even some emerging markets like China, where we see downside risk.” Among the small-cap stocks Stevens likes now: Valmont Industries (VMI), Hexcel Corp. (HXL), and Ascena Retail Group (ASNA). During “Hold It or Fold It,” when guests give their appraisal of stock requests made by the MoneyLife audience, Stevens said she would buy Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Linn Energy (LINE) and Shuffle Master (SHFL), she called I.D. Systems (IDSY) a “value trap,” put a sell on Seaspan Corp. (SSW), and said she would short KB Home (KBH).