Big Winners Start Their Move Quietly.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)

Byline: JONAH KERI

Investors love to say "What if?" with great stocks of the past. Yet it's also a futile exercise.

"What if I'd bought Cisco Systems during its first breakout in October 1990, or even a few years after that?" Buy a few thousand dollars' worth and hold for 10 years. If you had, you'd put your kids, grandkids and maybe a few others through college.

Too bad that scenario usually doesn't work out. Why? Because new, leading stocks are often no-names. They fly under the radar of analysts and major publications.

Yet they deserve a lot of attention. These newcomers offer growth potential that many bigger names can't match. They often have lean operations and are growing sales rapidly. Falling costs and rising operating margins let them ramp up profit.

Their stocks also hold promise. Mutual funds likely have only begun to notice these stocks' potential. That creates a raft of potential buyers.

Contrast that trend with a giant-cap already owned by hundreds of funds. They often feature more potential sellers than buyers.