Stocks of midsize companies perform like fast-growing small firms, with a lot less risk. Such businesses are large enough to be stable, but young enough to produce double-digit earnings growth for years to come.

That's exactly what Bob Turner, head of Turner Investment Partners, calls the market's "sweet spot." Fast-growing middle-tier companies have had to survive the tribulations of youth, making them tough competitors, Turner says. But they're no longer infants, and they have accumulated the money, experience and marketing power to move toward the next level and, in the process, build more market value for shareholders.

Mid caps also offer a good balance between risk and reward. Over the past 75 years, mid-cap stocks returned an annualized 11% on average, according to Steven DeSanctis, an analyst for Prudential Equity Group. That's only a half-percentage point less than small-company stocks have returned. But mid caps accomplished their feat with 15% less volatility (often considered a proxy for risk).

You can find a short list of mid-cap growth stocks to consider for your portfolio by screening for these criteria:

1. Market capitalization: more than or equal to $500 million
2. Market capitalization: less than or equal to $20 billion
3. Projected earnings growth next year: more than or equal to 15%
4. Projected 3-5 year earnings growth: more than or equal to 12%
5. Price-earnings ratio (based on next year's earnings): less than 40
6. This year's increase in earnings: more than 17%

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