"Merger Fund (MERFX) offers a non-traditional way to invest, using merger arbitrage," says fund specialist Leonard Goodall.

The editor of No-Load Fund Portfolios explains, "Managers Green, Shannon and Behren focus on acquisitions. The success of the fund depends upon the skill of the managers to pick the mergers that will go through, along with a good measure of luck.

"They make us of the 'spread' -- buying shares in the target company after the acquisition is announced and selling those shares at a higher price when the deal is completed.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"My favorite idea for 2009 is a defensive play -- the Consumer Staples SPDR (NYSE: XLP)," says Leonard E. Goodall in his No-Load Portfolios. Here's his review of the exchange-traded fund.

"My recommendation of Consumer Staples SPDR is based on my assumption that the U.S. and world economies will continue to decline through most of 2009, hitting a bottom in the fourth quarter of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010.

"If I thought the economy would recover sooner, I would prefer stocks and funds that are more aggressive in investment strategy.

"XLP provides good investor protection in an uncertain economy. Its major holdings include Colgate, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, CVS, Walmart, and Procter & Gamble.

"In tough times people will continue to buy toothpaste, medicines, soap, and other necessities. Of course, two of its other large holdings, Altria and Anheuser Busch, recognize they will also continue to drink and smoke!