How to survive a potential 'lost decade' in stocks, according to an investor whose firm thrived in the S&P 500's last drought

JON LEVY/AFP via Getty Images

• Some on Wall Street have warned of a "lost decade" ahead for stocks.
• Yacktman Asset Management thrived during the decade of tepid returns from 2000 to 2010.
• The firm's president said it focuses on which companies' free cash flows hold up in recessions.

From the peak of the dot-com bubble in March 2000 through March 2010, the S&P 500 was down 24% — a crippling stretch of returns that money managers cite as a prime example of a "lost decade" for markets.