For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.
In his Forbes ETF Trader, Jim Lowell says, "My top conservative pick for 2008 is the iShares Lehman TIPs (NYSE: TIP). This exchange-traded fund enters the mix as a less-spirited way to play the recessionary hand that 2008 could deal.
"While the performance behavior of the underlying holdings will make the case for this being nothing more than a dolled up basket of long-term Treasuries, the market reality is that in times of duress, the momentum tends to favor these instruments over most others.
"But don't buy it for yield or price. Instead, view it as a life raft on the deck of all the above picks. It's good to know it's there if you need it -- and according to consensus estimates, in 2008 it's not a case of if but when."
As an alternative, conservative investors can buy the iShares S&P 100 Index Fund (ASE: OEF). The S&P 100 Index is comprised of the largest 100 stocks in the S&P 500 Index. As such, it's an intermediate play between the Dow 30 and the S&P 500, and ought to continue to benefit from the current flight to quality in '08.
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