Recommended by: Jean Rosenbaum, co-manager of the BlackRock Science & Technology Opportunities Portfolio (BGSAX), ranked No. 18 by Bloomberg Rankings

Likes it because: Apple (AAPL) continues to innovate and create new markets. Sales of iPhones are expected to dramatically increase once Verizon Wireless starts selling it in early 2011, breaking AT&T's exclusive grip on U.S. sales of the device. Rosenbaum says Apple is riding the wave driving more content to the Internet, and can win customers more willing to pay for an iPad than for a high-end notebook PC. Notebooks showed that people want mobile computing, and the tablet takes that to the next level in a more elegant form, says Rosenbaum.

The stock's year-to-date performance through Oct. 15: +49.4 percent