"Don't you read the papers?"

Bill Miller is getting pretty tired of that question. Fortunately, he has a pretty good response up his sleeve.

Do you at least watch Mad Money?
After a rough two-year stretch, Miller -- who famously beat the market for 15 consecutive years at the helm of the Legg Mason Value Trust Fund -- has of late had numerous clients call his investing prowess into question.

"It has been explained to me that it was obvious we should not have owned homebuilders, or retailers or banks, and that I should have known better than to invest in such things," he wrote in his second-quarter shareholder letter. "It was also obvious that growth in China and India and other developing countries would drive oil and other commodities to record levels and that related equities were the thing to own."

Trust me, that stuff was not obvious
As one of the few investors who actually did see this credit crisis coming, believe me when I say that the events of the past two years are obvious only in the rearview mirror.

Suppose you suspected back in 2006 that lax mortgage underwriting standards and risky new loans would result in increased foreclosures and decreased discretionary income. It was still far from a foregone conclusion that this would lead to the complete collapse of the securitization markets.

Similarly, even if you fully comprehended the tremendous commodity demand from China and India, was $147 oil really so inevitable in early 2007, when a barrel fetched barely $50? And could you have correctly predicted that Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) would double over the next nine months and then give those gains back -- and more? These outcomes were hardly obvious at the time.

Miller's five obvious truths
That's why Miller's simple response to his clients' question is so effective. "While I am quite aware of our mistakes, both of commission and omission, when I ask what is obvious NOW, there is little consensus," he wrote. "If there is something obvious to do that will earn excess returns, then we certainly want to do it."

Have homebuilders hit bottom? Are financials doomed forever? Can energy rebound? What's in store for Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and PetroChina (NYSE: PTR)? Miller has no clue -- and neither do his critics.

But that doesn't mean Miller is powerless to profit from the panicked market environment. In fact, in his shareholder letter, Miller identified five obvious truths that the majority of the market seems to have missed:

  • The credit crisis will end.
  • The housing crisis will end.
  • The U.S. consumer will resume spending.
  • The U.S. economy will adapt and grow.
  • Stock prices will be higher in the future than they are now.

What's obvious now
Allow me to submit another "obvious" insight: With the stock market punishing many quality companies over concerns that may turn out to be overblown and short-term, now is a great time to buy shares of companies with strong financials, dedicated leadership, and great growth prospects.

Take Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), for example. Led by founder Reed Hastings, this $1.3 billion company has carved out a dominant niche in the DVD-by-mail market. Although subscriber growth has slowed somewhat, Netflix's margins have improved as a result of tighter controls on marketing expenses. And a down economy may even benefit the company, as consumers opt to stay on the couch rather than shell out for $10 tickets at the local multiplex.

Netflix shares have been halved from their 52-week high, but I believe this sell-off is overdone. The company boasts an impeccable balance sheet, with $250 million in cash and little debt. And while competitors such as Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) will continue to apply pressure in the direct mail and digital-download markets, respectively, Netflix's loyal subscriber base, recommendation-and-queue system, and innovative focus give the company a leg up.

As Tom Gardner noted when he recommended Netflix to Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscribers, the company has a "top-rated brand, visionary leadership, and financial resources to thrive in the video-on-demand environment." We may not know what the digital-download landscape will look like in the future, but we can be fairly certain that Netflix will remain a major player.

An obviously valuable service
Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner have identified plenty of promising companies that, like Netflix, have strong financials, dedicated leadership, great growth prospects, and a discounted share price. So far, this strategy has paid off for Stock Advisor subscribers: Since 2002, the brothers' picks have beaten the S&P 500 by an average of 20 percentage points. To see all of Tom and David's recommendations, as well as their best bets for new money now, simply click here for a free 30-day trial.

This article was first published Aug. 16, 2008. It has been updated.

Rich Greifner obviously wishes he'd bought Netflix back in 2002. Rich owns no shares of any company mentioned in this article. Netflix and Amazon.com are Stock Advisor recommendations. The Fool has a disclosure policy.