As many money managers had expected, small-capitalization stocks outperformed large-cap stocks by a wide margin throughout 2009. The big question now is whether that trend is over.

In the year ended Nov. 30, 2009, the BMO Nesbitt Burns small-cap index rose by more than 66%, compared with the S&P/TSX composite index, which increased by 34%.

Money managers don’t think the small-cap index will outperform again this year. However, many say, there are still opportunities for growth in sectors outside of resources and materials. “Excluding those sectors, there’s room for small-cap stocks to outperform,” says Martin Ferguson, manager of Mawer New Canada Fund and director with Calgary-based Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Like Ferguson, Ian Cooke, portfolio manager of QV Canadian Small Cap Fund, sponsored by Calgary-based QV Investors Inc. , is tipping his portfolio away from resources and financial services.

Both of these money managers tend to steer away from momen-tum and to focus instead on well-capitalized companies that can withstand periods of sluggish economic growth. Here’s a look at the companies they like:

> Financial services

Compared with their large-cap brethren, Cooke says, small-cap financials are available at low price/book ratios. He likes Laurentian Bank of Canada. Its commercial and residential lending books are prudent. He expects Laurentian’s share price could rise as earnings increase, and its dividend, which is 3% today, could also rise.

Ferguson says financials represent his largest weighting and his greatest overweighting vs the small-cap index. He likes this varied sector because, as a general rule, financial services companies understand return on equity. He owns shares in a variety of companies, including Canadian Western Bank; alternative credit provider Home Capital Group Inc. ; real estate names such as Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust; and Morneau Sobeco Income Fund, the largest provider of pensions and benefits consulting in Canada.

> Technology

Both money managers favour Constellation Software Inc., which owns a number of software applications that its large clients in various industries rely on.

“[Constellation has] a business model that generates a lot of cash flow,” Cooke says, “and [the firm] can reinvest it into consolidating the small software provider industry.”

Ferguson holds Logibec Groupe Informatique Ltée, which provides software to the medical and pharmaceuticals industries in Quebec and in the U.S.

“It has a strong balance sheet and is a free cash-flow generator,” Cooke says.

> Industrials

This sector is dependent on stronger economic growth. It has lagged others in the small-cap group as the cyclical shrinking of the sector heavily outweighed the positive infrastructure story in 2009, says Ferguson. Generally, he’s been trimming positions in this sector and adding when valuations are lower. One example is Stantec Inc., which, he says, remains an “extremely well-run company that we think is attractively valued.”

As prices have declined, Ferguson has also added weight to his holdings of New Flyer Inc. The Manitoba-based bus manufacturer has had some production issues, he says, but it has maintained its distribution system and has back orders for buses.

> Consumer discretionary

Both money managers like used autoparts distributor Uni-Select Inc., a countercyclical play — when times are tough, consumers often prefer to repair their vehicles rather than buy new ones.

Ferguson also likes MYT Food Group Inc., Canada’s largest franchisor of fast-food restaurants in malls. Franchisees pay to run businesses such as Thai Express and TCBY. “It’s a good business that’s not capital-intensive,” Ferguson says, “and it generates free cash flow.”

— GAVIN ADAMSON