U.S. stocks are struggling to find direction in the new year, but the early consensus on Wall Street is 2015 will be the seventh consecutive year for this bull market. The economy is growing, inflation is low and although the Fed may raise interest rates, on relative basis, rates are expected to remain low. For those who want to maximize their returns in a rising market, Bob Doll, chief equity strategist, at Nuveen Asset Management, is telling clients to buy technology, healthcare and telecom stocks. He explained why in a sit-down interview with Yahoo Finance:

HEALTHCARE: Play on demographics

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) gained an impressive 25% in 2014, beating the S&P 500 Index (^GSPC) which rose 12%. Yet Doll says these stocks have room to run because the aging population will keep these companies busy, plus he details three key metrics the group has that investors love. “When I see a sector that has revenue growth, margin improvement and earnings growth, I kind of like it.”

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TECHNOLOGY: Capital spending beneficiary

As for tech, it would be great to highlight sexy names like Apple (AAPL) or GoPro (GPRO) but Doll’s thesis here is much more demure. “The driver for tech is replacement capital spending, it's not a sexy thing, it's not a whole lot of new things, it's these stocks are cheap and the demand for tech continues to grow." Doll also describes these companies as “mid-cycle cyclicals” which he says are “the kind of thing to own in this environment.” Investors who bought the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) last year earned a slightly higher return, 17%, than the broader market.

Related: Bob Doll's market predictions for 2015

TELECOM: Dividend increases coming

This defensive group is perhaps one of Doll’s more interesting choices. Investors steered clear of telecoms in 2014. The iShares US Telecommunications ETF (IYZ) was little changed, compared to its defensive rival Utilities, which soared 24% as measured by the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU). This year Doll is betting on a reversal. “It's [telecom] far more attractive than utilities, which would be the pair if I was going long telecom and short utilities.” Doll is also betting these companies will reward investors with higher dividends. “Some of those companies will actually have dividend increases.” Verizon (VZ) already has a  dividend yield of 4.6% and AT&T (T) 3.3%.

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