This week at 24/7 Wall St., we have taken an in-depth look at some of the top picks from the biggest firms on the street. Picks that top their “Conviction” “Focus” or “Key List” stocks to buy. One thing we have noticed is there is far less crossover than there used to be. Fifteen years ago. many of the bulge bracket firms had top 10 lists that looked identical. Today, after what some have called a 12-year secular bear market, those lists have changed.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney keeps a much smaller list than many of the other firms we cover. With only five names on their list, it is the shortest we have reported on. Here are the five North America Best Ideas.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Apple, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computing products and portable digital music players worldwide. Trading today near $523, Apple is more than $180 below its 52-week high, and it has been the subject of a bull and bear tug of war over growth. It also suffered from investor fear last year that the new capital gains taxes would be severe. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has a price target of $714, below the old high. The street consensus is $750.

Calpine Corp. (NYSE: CPN). This independent wholesale power generation company owns and operates natural gas-fired and geothermal power plants in North America. It is trading near the top end of the 52-week range at $18.61, and the Best Ideas target price is $27. The street view is $21.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP). Canadian Pacific, through its subsidiaries, operates as a transcontinental railway providing freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise in Canada and the United States. This transport trades at $110.71, which represents nearly a 10% gain since the first of the year. The target price is $127. The consensus target is $99.

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS). CBS, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mass media company in the United States and internationally. With some of the highest rated shows on broadcast TV today, CBS trades at $38.54. The Morgan Stanley Smith Barney target price is $40. The street view is right in line at $40.

Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC). This provider of analytic data solutions worldwide offers various data warehousing solutions that comprise software, hardware and related business consulting and support services. This final name trades today at $64.66. The street price target is $77, while the Best Ideas target price is $79.

The appeal of a short list like this is diversity. By buying all five names you would have technology, utility, transportation, entertainment and information technology (IT). The key to successful investing is often not only having the right names, but having them in diverse sectors.

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