Wall Street investment pros' top stock picks for 2012

— -- Last Friday, USA TODAY's Wall Street reporter Adam Shell sat down with six top investment strategists and portfolio managers in New York City for USA TODAY's 16th annual "Investment Roundtable."

In a free-wheeling question-and-answer session lasting more than two hours, the panelists offered their investment outlooks for 2012 and shared their best moneymaking tips.

Here are each of the strategists' top five stock picks or investment themes for 2012:

Richard Bernstein

CEO and Chief Investment Officer,Richard Bernstein Advisors

Buy…

•USA assets. "The U.S., at worst, is going to be the best house on a bad block; people are underestimating risks in other parts of the world."

•U.S. Treasury bonds. Despite low yields, Treasuries offer "diversification," as they've been the only major asset class whose price has been moving in the opposite direction of stocks and most other assets.

•Small U.S. stocks. A play on domestic recovery; buy small-caps, especially financials and industrials, that will benefit from a better U.S. economy and avoid trouble abroad.

•Dividend-paying stocks. "It's not original" and defensive plays are "expensive," but that "doesn't mean they can't get more expensive" given investor "risk aversion."

•Avoid "credit-sensitive" plays. Investments tied to borrowing and leverage, such as housing, commodities, emerging markets, big banks and hedge funds, are likely to underperform.

Dan Chung

CEO and Chief Investment Officer,Fred Alger Management (Alger Funds)

Buy…

Chung owns all via Alger funds; family owns AAPL, LOW, OPEN.

Bob Doll

Chief Equity Strategist,BlackRock

Buy…

•Philip Morris ( PM, $75.92). Cigarette maker has strong free cash flow, pricing power, a yield of roughly 4% plus dividend growth. Share buybacks a plus.