Gary Franklin, 28, is standing at the edge of San Francisco Bay, watching planes take off and land at SFO. He wears a neon-orange vest, part of his uniform for his job loading SkyWest jets with meals and other provisions. But after his shift is over, Franklin logs on and pursues his passion for investing. In 2005, his Resurrection Fund gained nearly 60%. Even more impressive, over the last three years, Franklin's up over 470%.

Franklin's investing style is what he calls "FTV," fundamentals, technicals and volatility. He finds stocks in the news and in every-day life. One of his best picks in the past was technical-analysis software maker TradeStation, which he bought in 2002 because he liked the software and thought the stock was cheap at $1.20 per share. He also liked that it had cash and profitability with no debt. The stock now trades for $15.49.

Two more of his recent favorites, biotech stocks Elan and Biogen Idec, were buys, because they were oversold. To a technician, this occurs when a stock declines sharply and quickly, causing indicators, like the relative-strength index, to hit their lower bands. Franklin started buying Elan in March 2005, after the stock had tumbled from the upper $20s to around $7. It has since doubled from those levels. He still likes Elan at its current price of $14.67, as he believes the balance sheet is stronger now--with less debt--than it was when the stock was trading at $30 per share.

Asked if he'd like to quit his airport job and invest full time, Franklin smiles broadly and then remarks, "I'm not sure if I want to give up my flight benefits."

Amateur Guru: Alan Baginski
2005 Return: 49.3%
Age: 44
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
Day Job: software developer
Online Fund: NoTek Value Fund
Specialty: value stocks, avoids tech and biotech
Web site: www.Marketocracy.com

Despite his day job as a software developer for a telecommunications company, Alan Baginski, 44, is a died-in-the-wool value investor in the Buffett tradition; he eschews tech and biotech stocks, because he has a hard time understanding many of them. In fact, like Buffett, Baginski "looks for certainty in an uncertain world," so he maps out a worst-case scenario for every stock he buys. "How much money would be left for shareholders if the company went out of business and sold its assets?" he asks.

Baginski is a former athlete--he holds the New England high-school discus-throwing record. He took up investing as a hobby when he got into his 30s. Since he began investing with Marketocracy in 2000, his fund's total return has been 243% over five years and an impressive 49.3% in 2005.

Baginski currently holds oil and natural-gas companies. He thinks 2006 may be a bumpy year for energy, but that long-term, it's an industry with good prospects. He also points out that natural gas cannot physically be imported--a boon to domestic gas producers. His favorite energy companies are Valero Energy and Tesoro Petroleum.