The U.S. stock market may be down sharply for 2016, but those willing to stay the course will benefit in the second half of the year, Alison Deans, consultant at AA Deans Advisors, said Friday.
The three major U.S. indexes have fallen at least 5.5 percent for the year entering Friday's session, as global growth fears and plunging oil prices, among other factors, have weighed on the market.
"When we started hearing that profit growth was looking a little sluggish and that revenues were challenging, the market sold off. I find that people tend to say, 'Well, the news is out there,'" Deans told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"And then, when you have a real piece of news, that prompted people to sell a little bit more," she said. "My feeling is, by the second half of the year, a lot of what's causing pressure will not be causing as much pressure because the comparisons get easier."
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U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, but the Dow Jones industrial average and the were both more than 2.5 percent higher for the week, while the Nasdaq composite had gained nearly 3.5 percent.
Jim Tierney, chief investment officer of AB's Concentrated Growth Fund, said in the same interview the market's sell-off is an overreaction.
"When you look at the issues everyone's been talking about — whether it's China, oil, the global economy — all of those were known late last year. We got into January and people really just freaked out about it and sent the market down 10 percent plus," he said.
He also said there is a "real opportunity for stock pickers, active managers to find the winners."
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"You look at the fourth quarter so far, about 75 percent of companies have reported earnings. [There is a] huge dispersion in revenue growth. You have about 15 percent of companies reporting revenues 10 percent [higher] or more, and you have 20 percent of companies reporting revenue dropping by 10 percent or more."
Todd Gordon, founder of TradingAnalysis.com, had a more pessimistic view.
"I don't think we have the ability to recover. I think this is a 'sell' up here, and I think a lot of the rally that we've seen in this market is predicated on the crude oil movement," he told "Squawk Box." "I was lucky enough to [call] the lows in crude, … but ultimately I think I will be defeated on that call, and we'll make new lows."
Gordon said in August that U.S. crude would bottom at $26 a barrel. On Feb. 11, WTI hit an intraday low of $26.05.
Oil prices have been under pressure amid oversupply concerns, with WTI falling nearly 21 percent this year.
"If you look at the rally from January 20, which is this 'War of 1812' in the S&P, the rally has consisted of sectors that you don't want to see leading. You're seeing [consumer] staples, utilities, just not what you want to see," Gordon said. "Consumer discretionary, health care, financials are all underperforming. This whole thing is energy, materials and emerging markets coming back, and a crude oil rally, which will be defeated."
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