Do a Cost Check

One way to spot a company likely to have strong earnings in the future is to see if its costs are low, Shearer says. He looks for companies with a cost of production lower than at least three-quarters of industry peers. These companies will have the best profit margins no matter what happens to the economy, he says.

Mining giant BHP Billiton (BHP), the fund's second-largest holding, fits this criterion. It's "one of the most profitable companies in the mining industry," he says. BHP, based in Melbourne, Australia, has a dividend yield of 2.7 percent, and a payout that has increased 23 percent over the past five years.