What Veterans of the 1973-74 Bear Market are Buying Now

Amid these market rallies and pullbacks, what are the pros buying? The WSJ asks a handful of market veterans who invested throughout the treacherous 1973-74 bear market. There are different opinions about when the recovery will occur, but one common theme: now is absolutely the time to invest.

Here are the highlights:

Will Browne of Tweedy, Browne: "Three or four years down the road, this will have proved to be an extraordinary time to invest." He says the tricky part is when to buy. One thing's for sure: he's avoiding companies saddled with debt.

John Gunn of Dodge & Cox: "The U.S. economy is very strong and resilient...It's bad in the long-term to bet against it." He sees a possible turnaround by the end of 2010 or midway through 2011.

Chuck Royce of Royce Funds: "The opportunities are excellent" right now, so investors should keep at it. He thinks the stock market will improve this year, ahead of the economy.

Harry Cohen of ClearBridge Advisors: He's been buying consumer goods and other high-quality companies that pay out dividends, but thinks it could be two to three years before the market returns to its high.