Donald Hodges granted an interview to The Wall Street Journal's Shefali Anand in which he talked about the Hodges Fund's performance last year -- it was down 49.5 percent in 2008 after chalking up years of strong performance -- and his efforts to turn around the fund, which down 11 percent this year.

"You carry it with you every place you go because you have friends investing with you," the 74-year-old fund manager said. "I'm very much embarrassed by our performance last year."

Hodges is one of the highly regarded fund managers toting good track records who, as Anand put it, " have been chastened in the short term."

There's Robert Hagstrom, whose Legg Mason Growth Trust ranked in the top quarter among its peers over the decade ended 2007, but lost 60 percent last year due to bets on financials. The Neuberger Berman Partners Fund, helmed by Basu Mullick, plunged 52 percent in 2008. It is down an annualized 2.4 percent over a decade through February 28. 

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