Best 5 investment picks for midyear 2012 (AdvisorOne)

Art Steinmetz, chief investment officer at Oppenheimer Funds would not let the elections stop him from getting his portfolio together today. Steinmetz, who likes the finance, health care, tech and retail sectors, says equities will continue to be a good bet. As for bonds, analysts believe the best way for investors to go in the fixed-income market is toward higher-yielding bonds with good underlying fundamentals. Todd Rosenbluth, analyst for the S&P Capital IQ ETF, says his top pick is the iShares S&P 100 Index Fund, which offers a basket of dividend-yielding stocks and a low expense ratio of 0.2%. U.S. real estate investment trusts outperformed the broader equity market in the second quarter and first half of 2012, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Investors interested in this market might want to take a look at shopping mall REITs.