(MONEY Magazine) – The year 2000 humbled many of the best and brightest fund managers. Take our 10 fund stars of the 1990s (February 2000), who have consistently beaten the S&P 500 over the past decade. In a sharp turnaround, the growth-style managers ended up in the red last year, dragged down by plunging tech and telecom stocks. But having toughed out previous downturns, these veterans now see enticing buying opportunities in the growth-stock rubble. The value mavens, by contrast, fared better last year, yet remain more cautious about the stock market's prospects for 2001. Here's a quick update.

The standout performer last year was bargain-hunter Wallace Weitz of Weitz Value (his 2000 record through Dec. 15: 12.8%; three-year: 21.7%), who was buoyed by his one-third stake in financial services stocks. But Weitz sees few buys right now, so he's stashing a full 20% of the fund in cash. "Just because something's down 50%," notes Weitz, "doesn't mean it's cheap." Our other value star, Bill Miller of Legg Mason Value, was penalized by controversial holdings in Amazon and Gateway that put his famed S&P-stomping record in jeopardy as of mid-December (-8.1%; 21%). Still, he's standing by 'em, while buying more traditional value fare, like Eastman Kodak, down 40% in 2000.

For most growth managers there simply was nowhere to run. David Alger of Spectra was hardest hit, despite halving his tech stake last fall to 35% (-31.7%; 21.8%). Nonetheless, he is sticking with core holdings like Cisco, Ariba and Dell, which he expects will get back on the earnings-growth track. Similarly, Chip Morris of T. Rowe Price Science & Technology (-28.7%; 22.9%) and John Wallace of RS Diversified Growth (-29.4%; 30%) couldn't escape the Nasdaq tumble. Telecoms were an even bigger drag on returns for Sig Segalas of Harbor Capital (-15.6%; 20%), but he's adding to his shares of Nokia and Cisco. Gary Lewis of Van Kampen Emerging Growth was partly cushioned by holdings in winners like Corning and EMC (-10.2%; 37.8%). And Tom Marsico of Marsico Focus (-20.3%), who's scooping up Boeing and Merck, insists that "2001 should be a mirror image of 2000, with lower interest rates, lower oil prices and higher consumer confidence."

As befits a growth-at-a-reasonable-price guy, Richard Weiss of Strong Common Stock posted returns that fell between the growth and value camps (-5.8%; 13.2%). Though he escaped the worst of it, favorite media stocks like PanAmSat and AT&T Liberty Media failed to perform. The technology market downturn even spread overseas, tarnishing the gleaming record of Helen Young Hayes of Janus Worldwide (-13.8%; 22.4%). Still, her long-term performance remains superb. Like all of her superstar peers above, she remains a great bet for 2001 and beyond.

--ILANA POLYAK AND PENELOPE WANG