Places like North Dakota and Louisiana have been growing far faster than the overall U.S. economy, Whitney said. From 2008 to 2011, the U.S. economy grow by 6 percent, while the Texas economy grew more than 8 percent, Louisiana grew over 16 percent, and North Dakota grew close to 26 percent.
"When people look around the world for high growth … they need to look right at home," she said. "You have the same equivalent emerging markets growth, and that powerful growth with a common currency, common language, common legal structure and developed capital markets right here at home."
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Investors should look at equities, Whitney said. "I've always been interest in the equity play through this, not the bond play."
One financial benefiting from this trend is Discover Financial. "It's in the central corridor," she said, "so consumer spending is growing 30 percent faster than on the coast."
That is allowing Discover to post 10 percent revenue growth, Whitney said. "I like core structural growth.
"You do have some financials that are growing, but they aren't the financials that were the stalwarts of the last economy," she said. "This is just a different, much less glamorous game for these guys."
Bank of America remains a fix-up job, Whitney said. "I'm not counting on revenue growth—I'm counting on bottom-line improvement from expense reduction. That's sadly the case for most of the banks."
—By CNBC's Justin Menza. Follow him on Twitter @JustinMenza.
