Some observers of the independent broker-dealer universe might be tempted to explain its current state by counting the acquisitions that Nicholas Schorsch's Realty Capital has made over the past year. Acquiring Cetera, Investors Capital, J.P. Turner, Summit Brokerage Services (and Larry Roth) will give Realty Capital about 9,000 reps, roughly $200 billion in assets and some top-flight management.
One might be forgiven in thinking the BD trend is all about consolidation, but conversations with one BD president after another paint a different picture. While margins are thin and compliance costs are getting higher, 100% of the 58 BD presidents in our poll said they believe in the viability of the IBD model.
Large BD networks might provide some scale, and small BDs might not provide all the same services as the big boys, but as SSG President Dan Skiles says, “size doesn't matter anymore.” In a world of outsourcing, cloud-based systems and more competition in the advisor technology space, a “smaller firm can actually have better technology” than a larger firm burdened with legacy tech systems. Better technology, smart management, and responsive customer service can make any size broker-dealer successful.
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Air Lease Corporation (AL)
Air Lease Corporation engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial aircraft to airlines worldwide. The company also provides fleet management and remarketing services, including leasing, re-leasing, lease management, and sales services to investors and/or owners of aircraft portfolios. As of December 31, 2011, it had a fleet of 102 aircraft comprising 81 single-aisle jet aircraft, 19 twin-aisle widebody aircraft, and 2 turboprop aircraft. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Los Angeles, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Maxx Chatsko]
4. Air Lease (NYSE: AL )
The airline industry has been traveling through a patch of turbulence in the past year. Airlines are buying refineries, merging left and right, dealing with environmental regulations in Europe, and growing tremendously in international markets. Air Lease, believe it or not, offers a way to mitigate all of those risks. As you can probably deduce, the company leases aircraft to markets around the world. Each aircraft is brand-spanking-new, comes in one of the most popular sizes, and is among the most fuel efficient in the world. No wonder shares have left the runway this year. - [By Rich Smith]
If you ask devoted Boeing (NYSE: BA ) shareholders why they own it, they'll tell you there are about 787 good reasons to buy Boeing stock today -- and maybe more. Yesterday, Boeing announced that it's landed 102 orders for its most advanced Dreamliner airplane yet, the 787-10, with United Airlines (NYSE: UAL ) signing up to buy 20 of the new birds, and Air Lease (NYSE: AL ) and Singapore Airlines tying in the race to buy the most -- 30 Dreamliner-10s apiece.
- [By Holly LaFon] ease Corporation is an aircraft leasing company principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing to airlines around the world. Air Lease has a market cap of $2.49 billion; its shares were traded at around $25.22.
Air Lease Corporation went public in April 2011 and traded as high as $29.94 per share, but soon fell to as low as $17.24 per share in the fourth quarter. Stahl was able to buy 2,242,516 shares at an average price of $22 in the fourth quarter.
Stahl gave a lengthy analysis of Air Lease in his fourth quarter letter:
Air Lease is the second coming of Steven Udvar-Hazy. In 1973, Mr. Udvar-Hazy co-founded what became International Lease Finance Corp. (��LFC��, and in doing so established a new industry: leasing commercial aircraft to airline companies. He was successful both in concept and execution. ILFC, which is the world�� largest aircraft lessor, was sold to American International Group (��IG�� in 1990 for $1.3 billion. Mr. Udvar-Hazy remained CEO of ILFC until 2009, and retired from AIG in February 2010. By April 2011, he had engineered the IPO of a new aircraft lessor, Air Lease, bringing with him ILFC�� senior officers, who had worked for him there since 2002.
The basis for this new venture appears to be the reluctance of AIG to invest in the business. The two largest aircraft lessors are owned by diversified financial companies, the 2nd being GE Capital, which, like other major finance companies, is shrinking its balance sheets. Yet, this is occurring at what seems to be an opportune moment to allocate additional capital to the business:
��On a secular basis, airlines continue to increase their use of leasing. The proportion of aircraft fleets leased was about 0% in 1973, about 20% 25 years later in 1998, and 35% 12 years later in 2010. Leasing permits airlines to deploy their insufficient capital elsewhere, to more readily expand and diversify their fleets, and is a particularly helpful me
Top 10 Prefered Companies To Buy For 2014: Strategem Capital Corp (SGE)
Strategem Capital Corporation (Strategem) is a Canada-based company. It is a publicly-traded merchant bank involved in acquiring interests in and developing companies. The Company takes early debt and/or equity positions in such emerging growth companies. As of December 31, 2009, the Company is focused on companies that explore or develop precious or base metals. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Corinne Gretler]
ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA) slumped 9.3 percent after Germany�� largest steelmaker raised 882.3 million euros ($1.21 billion) through a share sale. Standard Chartered Plc lost 8.1 percent. Sage Group (SGE) Plc, the U.K.�� biggest software maker, rose 6.8 percent after reporting revenue growth that exceeded analysts��estimates. AZ Electronic Materials SA surged 43 percent after Merck KGaA (MRK) agreed to buy it for about 1.6 billion pounds ($2.6 billion).
Top 10 Prefered Companies To Buy For 2014: TiVo Inc.(TIVO)
TiVo Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology and services for television solutions, including digital video recorders (DVRs) and connected televisions in the United States and internationally. The company offers subscription-based TiVo service, which enhances home entertainment by providing consumers with a way to record, watch, and control live television, as well as to receive videos, pictures, and movies from cable, broadcast, and broadband sources in one interface. It also provides a platform for advertising and audience research measurement services. TiVo Inc. distributes the TiVo DVR through consumer electronics retailers and its online store at TiVo.com, as well as the TiVo service through agreements with satellite and cable television service providers; and broadcasting companies. As of January 31, 2011, it had approximately 1.5 million subscriptions to the TiVo service. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Alviso, California. Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Rick Munarriz]
Briefly in the news
VeriFone (NYSE: PAY ) shares tumbled 21% on Thursday, after the transactions enabler missed Wall Street's profit expectations and issued disappointing guidance. VeriFone wasn't very fun. TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO ) can't catch a break. The DVR pioneer was on the receiving end of a $490 million settlement, but the stock still took a hit because it was less than the market was expecting. Go figure. TiVo's intellectual capital alone has been enough to be awarded $1.6 billion in damages in recent years, but the company's enterprise value is a mere $1 billion. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) is not the second coming of Webvan, but it is expanding its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service to Los Angeles. It's been testing the service fir years in select neighborhoods in its home turf of Seattle. JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS ) moved higher on Friday after reporting a 36% surge in shipments. Solar energy was out of favor last year, but some players are starting to show signs of brightening.
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week. - [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
TiVo provides software and technology products that allows consumers to access their entertainment at their preferred times at any location. The stock has not done too well in recent times but is now displaying signs of life. Earnings and have decreased over most of the last four quarters while revenues have increased, overall, not pleasing investors. Relative to its peers and sector, TiVo has trailed significantly in year-to-date performance. WAIT AND SEE what TiVo does this coming quarter.
- [By Rick Munarriz]
Finally, we have TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO ) landing ahead of the prognosticators. The DVR pioneer posted a narrower loss than analysts were expecting. TiVo's adjusted deficit of $0.09 a share was a lot less red ink than the $0.14 shortcoming Wall Street was banking on. TiVo posted healthy subscriber growth on the strength of technology licensing deals with cable and satellite television providers worldwide, though it's easy to be concerned about the decline in higher-yielding subscribers to TiVo's namesake boxes.
Top 10 Prefered Companies To Buy For 2014: Weir Group PLC (WEIR)
The Weir Group PLC is engaged in engineering businesses. It operates in three segments: Minerals, Oil and Gas, and Power and Industrial. The Minerals segment provides slurry handling equipment and associated aftermarket support for abrasive high wear applications used in the mining and oil sands markets. The Oil & Gas segment provides products and service solutions to upstream, production, transportation, refining and related industries. The Power & Industrial segment designs and manufactures valves, pumps and turbines as well as providing specialist support services to the global power generation, industrial and oil and gas sectors. The Company�� subsidiaries include American Hydro Corporation, EnviroTech Pumpsystems Inc, Gema Industrigummi AB, Linatex Rubber Products Sdn Bhd and Mesa Manufacturing Inc. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Inyoung Hwang]
Weir Group Plc (WEIR) added 1.6 percent to 2,239 pence, the highest price in almost two months. The U.K.�� largest supplier of pressure pumps was raised to buy from hold at Berenberg Bank.
Top 10 Prefered Companies To Buy For 2014: Medallion Financial Corp.(TAXI)
Medallion Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company engages in originating, acquiring, and servicing loans that finance taxicab medallions and various types of commercial businesses. It offers commercial loans to finance the purchase of the equipment and related assets necessary to open a new business, or the purchase or improvement of an existing business; asset-based loans to small businesses; and secured mezzanine loans to businesses in various industries, including manufacturing and various service providers. The company also raises deposits; originates consumer loans for the purchase of recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles, trailers, and hearing aids; and conducts other banking activities. In addition, it provides other debt, mezzanine, and equity investment capital to companies in various industries. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lawrence Meyers]
That�� the case with Medallion Financial Corporation (TAXI). This neat little company is primarily focused on the financing of taxi cab licenses in major cities like New York. It does other specialty lending as well — such as asset-backed loans for luxury vehicles like boats and art. But its bread and butter has been the taxi business.
Top 10 Prefered Companies To Buy For 2014: Daily Mail and General Trust PLC (DMGT)
Daily Mail and General Trust PLC (DMGT) is a United kingdom-based multi-media and information company. The Company�� business activities are split into seven operating segments: RMS, business information, events, Euromoney, national media, local media and radio. Its dmg information is a business information division, providing business to business (B2B) information to the property, financial, energy and educational recruitment markets. As of October 2, 2011, dmg events, its business-to-business (B2B) exhibition and conferences division, operated 27 exhibitions and two conference businesses. Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC is a B2B media group. Associated Newspapers is its newspaper division. In September 2012, it sold its remaining 50% interest in DMG Radio Australia to Illyria. In July 2013, Daily Mail and General Trust PLC announced that Rothermere Continuation Limited has a holding 89.2% of interest of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Inyoung Hwang]
Daily Mail & General Trust Plc (DMGT) climbed 2.4 percent to 861 pence. The company said contribution from national newspapers to the group�� revenue dropped to 36 percent this year from 43 percent in 2012 and will fall further. The publisher of Britain�� second-biggest U.K. daily newspaper forecast full-year revenue will be 1.8 billion pounds, matching analysts�� estimates.
Top 10 Prefered Companies To Buy For 2014: Cutwater Select Income Fund (CSI)
Rivus Bond Fund (the Fund), formerly known as 1838 Bond-Debenture Trading Fund, is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The primary objective of the Fund is to maintain high level of income. Its portfolio includes long-term debt securities, including mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities. Effective July 7, 2006, the 1838 Bond-Debenture Trading Fund merged with and into the Rivus Bond Fund.
The Fund invests in various sectors, including automotive, chemicals, diversified financial services, energy, insurance, media, mining, real estate investment trusts, telecommunications, utilities and transportation. MBIA Capital Management Corp. serves as the investment advisor of the Fund.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sold At The Top]
Today's release of the S&P/Case-Shiller (CSI) home price indices for August reported that the non-seasonally adjusted Composite-10 price index rose a notable 1.33% since July while the Composite-20 index also increased 1.32% over the same period.
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