Chosen stocks can be domestic or international, covering all market sizes, investment styles and industry sectors. Each stock picker is reviewed on how the selections perform from the closing bell on the nearest trading day before the story is published to the closing price on the nearest trading day 13 weeks later.

Corbett was profiled at a time when small-cap stocks were losing steam after several years of outperforming larger counterparts. Emerging Opportunities was no exception, shedding 9.3% in the 13 weeks through Aug. 11 compared with a 7% average loss for its small-value fund peers, according to investment researcher Morningstar Inc.

Gaining stature

The Emerging Opportunities portfolio still owns shares of the three companies Corbett mentioned earlier this year.

Century Casinos (NASDAQ-SMALL:CNTY) , which runs smaller casinos in Colorado, Canada and on cruise ships and riverboats, "continues to execute rather well," Corbett said. "We still like the company longer-term," he added. "The valuation may be just a little ahead of itself."

Corbett recommended Century Casinos (NASDAQ-SMALL:CNTY) at $10.83 a share. Over the next 13 weeks the company's shares slipped 0.5% to $10.28. On Wednesday, shares of Century Casinos (NASDAQ-SMALL:CNTY) closed at $11.

Rimage (NASDAQ-NMS:RIMG) was a more lucrative choice in the 13-week time frame, rising 18.3% to $24.84 from $20.99. Shares have since declined, finishing at $21.05 on Wednesday.

The company makes tools for publishing, duplicating and printing CDs and DVDs, with most of its business coming from medical imaging. Rimage (NASDAQ-NMS:RIMG) is also reaching the retail market with products that digitally store photos and other data, but Corbett said that's a multiyear project.

"There's still a question mark with the company about whether its products will take off on the consumer side," he said. "We're waiting to see if they can evolve."

Force Protection (NASDAQ-OTCBB:FRPT) , which builds armored military vehicles, has lived up to its name for Corbett.

"They make vehicles that the military just loves," Corbett said. The vehicles are designed to protect occupants from roadside bombs, land mines and other explosives, and the company's order book is solid, he added. "It's not an issue of how many will buy the product," Corbett said. "It's a matter of how many they can make."

When Corbett mentioned Force Protection (NASDAQ-OTCBB:FRPT) , shares were trading at $3.91. Over the next 13 weeks the stock rose 62.7% to $6.36. Shares closed at $7.70 on Wednesday.

"It's close to that [market cap] where it might be removed from Emerging Opportunities," Corbett said of Force Protection's (NASDAQ-OTCBB:FRPT) shares, which have a market value of about $400 million.