This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Our top pick for 2010 is engineering and construction (E&C) firm AECOM Technology (ACM)," says Geoffrey Seiler.

In his BullMarket.com the advisor explains, "AECOM, unlike some better-known E&C names, offers a relatively low-risk business model. It performs no construction work at all and thus has none of the lump-sum, fixed-rate contracts that other companies might sign."

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Sean Udall.

Through my career I've generally stayed apolitical with regard to investment and trading decisions, but there have been times when some higher percentage trades have presented themselves due to political circumstances. Examples include: the tech push in Clinton's second term, the defense sector after Bush's 2000 victory, as well as the oil patch. Based on that, here are some overriding thoughts, in no particular order.

The market has moved to the phase where many if not most participants want and expect a pullback. Since the market confounds the greatest number of players most of the time, is a big pullback a lower probability event now? Moreover, does the selling panic of much of October turn into a buying panic in the coming weeks and months? I'm letting the charts lead me here but aware that this bullish case could possibly trump terrible economic conditions.

I still think the alt energy patch (solar, wind, battery tech, clean coal) will produce some of the best winners, but a lot of easy money has been made in just days. Quality and fundamentals will likely count much more now than over the past few months. Also, extended runs may become vulnerable quickly if policy decisions do not show quick tangible follow-through. Companies with the best balance sheets and funding sources will benefit the most and have the least downside on sharp technical pullbacks.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says this report highlighted where the success lies in this market: energy and petroleum.

Fluor's (NYSE: FLR) (Cramer's Take) a monster. It shows you that what has hurt the other companies, particularly Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) (Cramer's Take), is pure execution.

This gigantic beat also serves to remind us of the big dichotomy. You are either in the energy and petroleum products game or you are in a lot of games that don't work.

It's not easy for these companies, some of which have lived off the duress of state and local governments, including Shaw (NYSE: SGR) (Cramer's Take) and to a certain extent Aecom (NYSE: ACM) (Cramer's Take) and URS (NYSE: URS) (Cramer's Take), to become oil-and-gas plays.

The only ones that have transcended it beside Fluor are Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) (Cramer's Take) and Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC) (Cramer's Take), and the only reason you would really know that is longevity. I remember in the early 1980s when FLR and then FWC would compete directly for all of the huge projects after the second oil shock.

Jim Cramer says these four infrastructure stocks can keep running thanks to their market caps.

What is the real lure of infrastructure? How can an Aecom (NYSE: ACM) (Cramer's Take) or a KBR (NYSE: KBR) (Cramer's Take) or a Foster-Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) (Cramer's Take) or a McDermott (NYSE: MDR) (Cramer's Take) keep going higher and higher and higher?

The secret is market cap. These are all the functional equivalent of small- or mid-cap stocks. Most of their capitalizations are in the $5 billion to $10 billion range and that's just not enough size to make a difference to the average hedge fund or mutual fund manager unless he or she takes a monster positioning the name.

Consider the case of personal fave Foster Wheeler. Despite being up 247% year-over-year and 143% this year alone, this stock still is not a $10 billion stock. (Need I remind you that most stocks that are large cap are over $100 billion?)

Yet the orders keep coming in to the company, and the business of building plants, once horribly cyclical, has turned secular because of the worldwide power shortage.

That theme, the best theme over the next few years, can best be played by the infra group. But the infra group all together doesn't amount to anywhere near $100 billion.

That means the move is still on; it means that it may be barely done.

It means they all can still go higher and remain the best place to be once the market inevitably sells off again.

RELATED LINKS:

• Top Dividend Stocks From Buffett, Soros and Icahn
• Cramer: How to Play Options in This Market

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in stocks mentioned.