I came of age during the great democratization of stock market investing. It probably started when you could get SEC documents online, and it's been chugging along ever since, the latest part being the website you're reading now. Never before has the investor's main tool—information--been as available to the small investor as it is to the Big Boys on Wall Street. As I look ahead to 2010 and beyond, however, I'm forced to conclude that it will be a year for those Big Boys. In the aftermath of the stock market rebound of 2009, my sense is that the best risk-adjusted returns will lie outside of stocks, in places like commercial real estate, mortgage-backed securities, and distressed corporate debt, where it's very hard for small investors to play.

The good news is, the small investor need not sit completely on the sidelines. Many of the best of the big boys, the world's top professional investors, have decided that the benefits of public ownership are worth the burdens, and therefore you can buy a piece of their prowess on the stock market. Don't be surprised if they outperform the average hedge fund in 2010 and beyond. Our Man in Omaha is the most famous example, but here is a sample of some others, in alphabetical order: