The 3,240 yen ($31) of cash framed on Hideto Fujino’s desk is a constant reminder of his greatest humiliation.

The money, barely enough for dinner at the Thai restaurant downstairs from his office, was Fujino’s payout from a 2009 fire sale of the asset management firm he built from scratch. As clients fled during the global financial crisis, Fujino was forced to unload his stake in Rheos Capital Works, give up his role as president and go back to being an employee for the first time in almost 6 years.

Today, the framed memento is one of the few vestiges of Fujino’s darkest period. Rheos Capital’s flagship Hifumi fund is beating 97% of peers, the firm’s assets under management just surpassed 200 billion yen ($1.93Bn) and Fujino has reclaimed his title as president and CEO. He bought back 25% of the company with other directors and staff in December, and they plan to eventually purchase the rest.

Japan Legend.     Fujino, a former high-flier at Goldman Sachs Asset Mgmt, was already a standout in risk-averse Japan after he left a comfortable career to strike out on his own. But the 50-year-old’s road to redemption has made him something of a legend in a money management industry still struggling to reclaim its glory days almost 3 decades after the nation’s stock bubble deflated.

“He’s an artist,” said Ken Shibusawa, chairman of Commons Asset Management and the great-great grandson of the founder of Tokyo’s stock exchange. “Even if others tried to do what he does, they wouldn’t be able to.”

The Hifumi fund has gained an annualized 22% over the past 5 years, beating 97% of peers tracked by Bloomberg. It’s down just 2.5% in 2016, versus an 11% drop for Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average, and has returned 231% since inception in 2008.

His Power Play?     While most Japanese equity managers stick to blue-chip companies in the Nikkei 225, Fujino targets smaller firms. He looks for businesses with steady double-digit earnings growth, a reasonable stock price and a switched-on management team. And despite his affinity for trendy gadgets (Fujino wears an Apple Watch on his left arm and a Misfit Ray fitness tracker on his right), the Hifumi fund’s tech holdings tend to be low-profile.

Fujino, who’s written more than 20 books about investing, says he likes "plain, dull companies.”