Its equity strategists say that value criteria tend to work best in small- and mid-cap stocks. They added that small caps are an especially good pathway to diversification right now. But they noted that investors can use small caps to diversify their portfolios while also being rewarded for better stock picking. "High Projected Long-Term Growth has not been a strong stock selection factor over the long-term," they wrote. "The best way to pick stocks within small caps over the long-term has been buying stocks with high free cash flow to enterprise value" and other metrics based on free cash flow yields.

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Persons: Subramanian, it's, Jill Carey Hall, Nicolas Woods, Woods, Russell, Russell MidCap Organizations: of America, Bank of America, US Equity, Materials, Nasdaq, Bank of