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. Successfully identifying turnaround and takeout candidates is one reason Ed Sollbach, a portfolio manager at Spartan Fund Management, is receiving an award for best-in-class returns. 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, with an annualized return of 13.7 per cent. Recent bets on more familiar turnaround stories include Home Capital Group, which was bought at around $8 a share as the lender was going through a liquidity crisis last year. At that point, the bank's book value was about $25, making for a compelling value play, Mr. Sollbach said. The fund sold the last of its Home Capital shares in the summer at around $15. Mr. Sollbach adds that when patience alone fails to work, an accelerant in the form of takeover interest can move things along nicely.