The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that the stock market can be slow to reconsider excessive punishments. The Globe's Tim Shufelt writes that can make investing in beaten-down companies due for a revival an exercise in endurance. When patience alone fails to work, an accelerant in the form of an acquirer can move things along nicely. "If investors don't recognize value, sometimes strategic buyers will," said Ed Sollbach, a portfolio manager at Spartan Fund Management. Successfully identifying turnaround and takeout candidates is one reason Mr. Sollbach is receiving an award for best-in-class returns. U.S. fund-research firm Lipper Inc. this week handed out awards to Canadian mutual funds and exchange-traded funds for superior returns in a broad set of categories. These include Spartan's MM Fund, which beat all its Canadian-equity peers in returns over the past three years, up to the end of July. The fund posted an annualized return of 13.7 per cent over the last three years. Investing for yield has a proven, market-beating track record in Canada, particularly when focusing on companies with stable profits, he said, naming A&W, Chorus Aviation and Slate Office REIT as current "core" picks.