Investors need to think outside the box if they want to receive better returns, Nili Gilbert, Matarin Capital co-founder, said Thursday.
"In order to find unique investment opportunities, sometimes investors need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable," she told CNBC's "Fast Money: Halftime." "The thing with easy decisions in the market is that, they've often been made. The easy ideas are already priced into the asset prices. To find more unique return opportunities, sometimes you need to find situations that are uncomfortable that cause investors to overlook the stock."
One example of this investment strategy is Deluxe, a check-printing company, Gilbert said.
"When investors hear about the idea of buying a check-printing company, they might [think] 'Yuck, who wants to get into check-printing in the era of online banking and fintech,'" she said. "But the truth is, when you look at Deluxe, while their primary business has been check printing, this is actually a growing company that is throwing off a lot of cash."
Deluxe shares have gained more than 13 percent this year. That said, the stock has lost more than 6 percent over the past 12 months.
DLX 1-year chart