Are you ready? That's the question Motley Fool co-founder Tom Gardner asked investors last week. Our intrepid Rising Star analysts, who are managing small pots of the Fool's money on Fool.com, have answered that question affirmatively this week by recommending three new stocks for their portfolios. Here are the recommendations:

Rising Star Buy: Annaly Capital
Rising Star Ilan Moscovitz selected Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY) for the Dada Portfolio that he manages with Sean Sun. He was attracted to the company's 15% yield and its ability to thrive in the current environment. Ilan believes that Annaly's high yield "should remain high so long as the economy lumbers along and the Fed holds interest rates down."

While this company may appear to be quite complicated, it's actually "pretty straightforward," according to Ilan. He describes it as follows:

Imagine if you could borrow $10,000 at 2%, lend it at 4% to a guaranteed borrower, and keep the $200 difference.

That's Annaly's business in a nutshell. The company issues shares to raise capital, which it levers up with short-term financing. It uses this capital to buy longer-term mortgage-backed securities, collects the interest on these securities or sells them, and then repays its lenders."

There are similar companies out there like American Capital Agency and Hatteras Financial, but Ilan likes Annaly because it's "bigger, has an ultra-safe portfolio, a long track record, and a strong management team headed up by Michael Farrell.

Read Ilan's article to learn more about this compelling investment idea.

Rising Star Buy: Power-One
Rising Star Jim Mueller, believing that he had uncovered a fast-grower at a reduced price, added Power-One (Nasdaq: PWER) to his portfolio. It may sound like an energy-bar company, but it actually "manufactures inverters that change DC electricity produced by solar and wind to AC electricity fed into electric grids."

Yep, Power-One is part of the high-flying renewable energy industry that includes the likes of First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) and Suntech Power (NYSE: STP). Jim likes that the "company has been growing so strongly since entering the inverter market," and that it is part of a market that he expects to grow rapidly. When he saw the shares drop significantly in the prior week, he decided to act.

Read Jim's article to learn more about his investment thesis.

Rising Star Buy: Medtronic
Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) is a "great American success story" that just happens to be on sale for investors, according to Rising Star Bryan Hinmon. He feels that "paying nine times free cash flow and 10 times next year's expected earnings for a company of Medtronic's quality makes good, Foolish sense."

Despite being unloved (its shares are down 19% since the beginning of the year), Medtronic is "buying back shares, raising its dividend, and scooping up acquisitions and it is in great financial shape." And not only that, it invests a lot more in R&D than peers like St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) and Boston Scientfic (NYSE: BSX).

Intrigued? Read Bryan's entire buy recommendation to learn more.

Getting your head around these picks
When Henry V was asked if he was ready prior to the battle of Agincourt, he replied (according to Shakespeare), "all things are ready, if our minds be so." That's great military advice and good investing advice too. Get your mind ready by reading all three of the Rising Star recommendations that are summarized above. Then come join us on our discussion boards to share your thoughts on the recommendations. Remember always to do your own due diligence before charging forward with any investment idea.