Iben has been snapping up shares of Kinross Gold (KGC), Anglogold Ashanti (AU) and the relatively obscure Lihir Gold (LIHR).

Iben has been snapping up shares of Kinross Gold (KGC), Anglogold Ashanti (AU) and the relatively obscure Lihir Gold (LIHR).

Traded in Australia, the company is based in Papua New Guinea, where, Iben says, "they own what we think will be one of the biggest gold mines in the world. We think we're paying the equivalent of $450 per ounce of gold for their reserves."

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT), Japan's largest telecommunications company. "You have this dominant telecom provider from the second-largest economy on earth -- and it's got a market cap of only $67 billion!" exclaims Iben. He isn't rattled by the fact that NTT now has rivals and margins are slimming: "There's great value left in the franchise."

Online auctioneer eBay (EBAY), a "best-of-breed" growth company that trades at half its highs and offers a low P/E ratio, is a new addition.

Tradewinds' top holdings also include Amgen (AMGN), a biotech giant whose stock price has fallen so much that "you don't need that much more growth to see the potential for an increase in value."

He's also picked up another battered telecom, Alcatel-Lucent (ALU.France). So far, Tradewinds has lost money on that position. "But we took the chicken way in, buying the convertible stock [a 7.75% preferred-share issue], and so we've lost only a third of our money instead of two-thirds -- and we're getting a hefty yield of 13% now!" Iben isn't ready to walk away yet. "Sometimes the turnaround happens quickly; sometimes we have to wait longer for the market to recognize the stronger fundamentals."

But Iben has bet on another part of the agricultural sector: food processors Tyson Foods (TSN) and Smithfield Foods (SFD). "These are strong franchises that provide protein for the world and have been big beneficiaries of global growth. As global [gross domestic product] rises, so does demand for protein. And they are cheap."