12 money-making investment ideas to try in 2012

— -- 1. Buy U.S. assets. "The U.S., at worst, is going to be the best house on a bad block; at best it could be a shining star," says Richard Bernstein.

2. Avoid U.S. Treasury bonds. "They won't outperform again in 2012," says Dan Chung. "You'd have to believe that rates are going to continue to fall, and that stocks get shunned in a significant way."

3. Buy airline stocks. "A lot of people say you never can make money on the airlines," says Ann Miletti. But consolidation and shrinking seat capacity mean planes are full and ticket prices are going up. The wild card is fuel prices. If jet fuel doesn't spike, airline stocks can do well.

4. Buy stocks. "Equities are unloved, and they are underowned," says Bob Doll. Often, investments hated the most perform the best.

5. Buy dividend-payers with a history of boosting payouts. "We are not looking for the highest yielders," says Kate Warne. "We are focused on stocks with a track record of increasing dividends, rather than just those that pay dividends."

6. Seek out stocks benefiting from a housing pickup. "If housing picks up," says Tom Lee, "anything that supplies the housing market will prosper, especially financial and consumer discretionary stocks." Adds Lee: "Vacancies and mortgage delinquencies are at levels not seen since 2006 and 2008, respectively. And affordability vs. renting is at 20-year highs."

7. Buy U.S. small-company stocks. These volatile and economically sensitive stocks will work well and outperform if the dreaded "double dip" recession doesn't occur, Bernstein says.

8. Gobble up growth stocks. Search for companies that can deliver "growth, growth and growth" in a slow-growth economy, Chung says. The "best opportunities" will be in companies with "market leadership and pricing power" that can grow their revenues, earnings and cash flow in tough times.

9.Bet on domestic energy. Miletti is a "big believer in natural gas," an energy asset "right underneath our feet in the U.S." She believes the U.S. can "go from a country of importing energy to one that actually exports energy over time." Less restrictive regulations should allow for more drilling. That will "bring jobs and growth back to our country and provide more long-term security" as we become less dependent on foreign energy sources.

10. Buy stocks with profits earned domestically. "I believe in the U.S.," Doll says. "The U.S. is the only economy of size that has accelerated in the second half of the year, compared to the first half. There are more earnings benefits to come from that."

11.Go for globalcompanies with exposure beyond Europe. "Even if more bad news comes out of Europe," Warne says, "companies that operate globally have a pretty good track record of finding areas of growth and benefiting from it."

12. Try stocks that soared in 2009. "Treat 2012 like a post-financial crisis year," Lee says. "The template is 2009. If Europe stabilizes, financial and consumer discretionary stocks will be winners like they were after the last crisis."