Instead of hunkering down and waiting out the storm, some of the world's smartest investors are aggressively looking for new names in which to invest. FORTUNE Magazine recently sat down with 13 smart money managers - including former Vanguard manager John Neff and hedge fund whiz Leon Cooperman - to see what their top picks were for 2008.

Some of the picks, to be sure, are bound to be controversial. Whitney Tilson of T2 Partners, for example, sees an opportunity in beaten-down Sears Holdings (ticker: SHLD) while Ken Heebner of CGM Realty Fund continues to like emerging market stocks, especially Petroleo Brasileiro (ticker: PBR). Other picks are more defensive in nature: Bill Stone of PNC Wealth Management likes healthcare companies and Lockheed Martin, while Mustafa Sagun of Principal Global Advisors likes agricultural stocks. If you're feeling particularly bearish about the current state of the financial markets, you might want to check out what Nouriel Roubini of RGE Monitor has to say about the risk of recession in the U.S. economy and the current situation in the housing market.

DISCLAIMER: Please keep in mind that the stocks and strategies mentioned above were for illustrative purposes only. Depending on your risk/reward profile, they may or may not be appropriate for your portfolio. The above is neither a solicitation to buy nor sell these stocks. 

[images: Leon Cooperman (top) and John Neff (bottom)]