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Jeff Layman, of BKD Wealth Advisors, and William Lefkowitz, of V-Finance, shared their best stock and sector plays for the dog days of summer. “We’ve come off a strong July,” Layman told

CNBC. “We’ll have to start seeing new flow, showing improvements in various parts of the economy and not just the rate of the decline slowing—and we’re seeing that in some areas.” Layman

advised investors to take a more _INTERNATIONAL FOCUS_, but said his favorite sector within the U.S. is the _TECHNOLOGY AREA_. “Valuations are very reasonable relative to growth rates and

these companies have low debt loads,” he said of the tech sector. “Most of these companies have more than 50 percent of sales coming from abroad, which we think the [international] theme

plays out very well—that’s going to be where the net incremental growth will come from." * Latest Tech Sector News and Data Additionally, Layman said he sees opportunity in the _ENERGY

SECTOR_, while he told investors to avoid cash and short-term treasurys. * Complete Energy Sector News and Data In the meantime, Lefkowitz told investors that there are a lot of exciting

opportunities and this is a chance to make “a ton of money.” “Options are still showing that people are fearful out there, but you can take advantage of them,” he said. “If you take a look

at _Apple_ for example, it’s been coming back—they didn’t see the recession that everyone’s talking about.” Lefkowitz said companies such as _Caterpillar_ and _MASTERCARD_ should also

continue to go up as the economy starts to get better. _CISCO’s_ options are also relatively cheap, added Lefkowitz, “so there’s another place for a person to take a shot at,” he said. *

S&P Will Hold at 1,000 Level: Yoshikami * BlackRock’s Doll: Value Stocks to Make a Comeback DISCLOSURE: No immediate information was available for Layman or Lefkowitz.

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