In his book The Rational Optimist, Matt Ridley opens by writing, "Life is getting better, and at an accelerating rate ... The pessimists who dominate public discourse insist that we will soon reach a turning point and things will start to get worse. But they have been saying this for two hundred years."
I thought about that line this morning after seeing dismal economic numbers come out of Europe. Much of the continent is back in recession, where it has hovered for the last five years. Deep pessimism is beginning to take hold. "Just 9 percent [of French citizens] think their�children�will be better off�financially than their parents," The Financial Times wrote. That is terrible.�
Now a confession. After reading about how miserable Europe is, I set out to make a chart showing real GDP per capita growth for different regions of the world over the last decade or so.�I expected it to show stagnation and decline -- isn't that all we hear about today?
Instead, after crunching the numbers, I got a chart that would make Ridley smile:
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: General American Investors Inc. (GAM)
General American Investors Company, Inc. is a self management investment trust. The firm invests in the public equity markets across the globe. It employs a fundamental analysis with a bottom-up stock picking approach. General American Investors Company, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GuruFocus]
General American Investors Co. Inc. (GAM): President & CEO Jeffrey W Priest Bought 14,000 Shares
President & CEO of General American Investors Co. Inc. (GAM) Jeffrey W Priest bought 14,000 shares on 01/29/2014 at an average price of $33.53. General American Investors Co. Inc. has a market cap of $932.500 million.
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG)
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (the Fund) is an open-end investment company, or mutual fund. It seeks to track the performance of an index that measures the investment return of common stocks of companies that have a record of increasing dividends over time. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund (the Fund), which employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Dividend Achievers Select Index (the Index).
The Index is a subset of the Broad Dividend Achievers Index and is administered for Vanguard by Mergent, Inc. The Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Index.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brendan Conway]
Editor�� note: This column is part of our Best Stocks for 2014 contest. Brendan Conway’s pick for the contest is the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG).
- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: VIG) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
- [By Eric Parnell]
After taking these risks into consideration, maintaining an allocation to stocks remains worthwhile in such an environment. Given the volatility that often accompanies the turbulent May to October period, it may offer some particularly good trading opportunities as either broader markets or specific securities experience steep corrections followed by swift rallies. But risks must be monitored closely and holdings should be viewed with a potentially shorter time horizon depending on how events unfold in the coming months. Emphasizing stocks that exhibit quality, low volatility, value and current income that are also not technically overbought provides an additional way to control risk in the current environment. This includes allocations such as the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) and high quality individual names such as Exxon Mobil (XOM), International Business Machines (IBM), McDonald's (MCD), General Electric (GE) and Oracle (ORCL). It should be noted that IBM, General Electric and Oracle were all positions that were scooped up following recent sharp pullbacks.
- [By Brendan Conway]
Editor�� note: This column is the latest update in our Best Stocks for 2014 contest. Brendan Conway’s pick for the contest is the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG).
Top 10 Managed Healthcare Companies To Watch In Right Now: Agree Realty Corp (ADC)
Agree Realty Corporation, incorporated in December 1993, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company�� operations are conducted through, directly or indirectly, Agree Limited Partnership (Operating Partnership), of which the Company is the sole general partner, and in which it 96.59% interest as of December 31, 2011. The Company is focused primarily on the ownership, development, acquisition and management of retail properties net leased to national tenants. It specializes in acquiring and developing single tenant net leased retail properties for industry retail tenants. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 96% of its annualized base rent was derived from national tenants and regional tenants. At December 31, 2011, its portfolio consisted of 87 properties, located in 21 states containing an aggregate of approximately 3.6 million square feet of gross leasable area (GLA). At December 31, 2011, its portfolio included 75 freestanding single tenant net leased properties and 12 community shopping centers that were 92.7% leased. All of its freestanding property tenants and the majority of its community shopping center tenants have triple-net leases, which require the tenant to be responsible for property operating expenses, including property taxes, insurance and maintenance. In December 2012, the Company acquired LA Fitness and an AutoZone. In January 2013, the Company acquired 317 South State Street for redevelopment. In December 2012, the Company acquired a portfolio of four Applebee's restaurants, as well as an Advance Auto Parts. In Jnauary 2013, the Company sold Walgreens on Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti , Michigan. In January 2013, it acquired Dick's Sporting Goods and Petsmart in St. Joseph, Missouri. In March 2013, it acquired three single tenant assets leased to retailers. In May 2013, the Company acquired two single tenant assets leased to Petsmart and Starbucks. In June 2013, Agree Realty Corp announced that it has acquired two single tenant assets ! leased to Wal-Mart Stores and AutoZone. In August 2013, Agree Realty Corporation acquired four single tenant assets leased to industry retailers. In September 2013, Agree Realty Corporation acquired an 112,230 square foot BJ's Wholesale Club located on Airport Road South in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In November 2013, Agree Realty Corp acquired two assets net leased to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Mattress Firm, Inc. In January 2014, the Company acquired Cannon Station in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. In February 2014, the Company announced the acquisition of two net lease properties and sale of Ironwood Commons shopping center.
In January 2011, the Company acquired a retail property net leased to AT&T located at the northwest corner of New Centre Drive and South College Road in Wilmington, North Carolina. In October 2011, it acquired a retail property leased on a long-term basis to Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah. In December 2011, the Company acquired Wawa convenience store and fuel station in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as a Walgreens pharmacy in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and a CVS pharmacy in Leawood, Kansas. In May 2012, the Company acquired a 133,000 square foot retail property ground leased to Lowe's Home Improvement in Portland, Oregon. In June 2012, the Company sold the Charlevoix Commons shopping center in Charlevoix. In June 2012, the Company acquired a store leased to Dollar General Market in Cochran, Georgia, as well as the fee interest in the land underlying its Walgreens store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In July 2012, the Company acquired a portfolio of three Wawa convenience and fuel stores. The stores are located in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, Newark, Delaware and Vineland, New Jersey and are master leased by Wawa. In July 2012, it acquired auto service store in Fort Mill, South Carolina leased to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. In August 2012, the Company closed on the acquisition of a parcel of land in Pinellas County, Florida. In August 2012,! the Comp! any sold Plymouth Commons shopping center and the Shawano Plaza shopping center. In September 2012, it acquired a Family Dollar store in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a USAA Financial Services Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina and an AutoZone store in Springfield, Illinois. In September 2012, it disposed its remaining assets that were formerly leased to Borders. In September 2012, the Company acquired a a parcel of land in Casselberry, Florida for the development of gas and convenience retailing. In November 2012, the Company acquired a Harris Teeter supermarket in Charlotte, North Carolina. In November 2012, the Company acquired a Big Lots store and a Dollar General Market.
Freestanding Properties
At December 31, 2011, the Company's 75 operating freestanding properties were leased to Walgreens (30), Rite Aid (7), CVS (6), Kmart (2), JP Morgan Chase (3), Los Tres Amigos (1), Dick�� Sporting Goods (1), Lake Lansing RA Associates, LLC (1), Meijer (1), Wal-Mart (Sam�� Club) (1), Kohl�� (2), PNC Bank (1), Lowe�� (1), Off Broadway Shoes (1), Wawa (1), Simply Amish (1), Advance Auto (1), Aldi (1), Natural Grocers (1), AT&T (1), TBC Tire stores (2), Books-A-Million (1), and vacant (8). Its freestanding properties provided $23,953,036, or approximately 70.4%, of its annualized base rent as of December 31, 2011, at an average base rent per square foot of $14.10. These properties contain, in the aggregate, 1,697,953 square feet of GLA or approximately 48% of its total GLA as of December 31, 2011. Of its 75 operating freestanding properties, 47 were developed by the Company. Its freestanding properties had a weighted average remaining lease term of 14.8 years as of December 31, 2011. The Company�� freestanding properties range in size from range in size from 3,215 to 170,393 square feet of GLA and are located in Arizona (one), California (one), Connecticut (one), Florida (one), Georgia (two), Illinois (four), Indiana (two), Kansas (four), Maryland (three), Michigan (36), Neb! raska (tw! o), New Jersey (one), New York (two), North Carolina (two), Ohio (two), Oklahoma (one), Pennsylvania (one), Texas (one), and Utah (one).
Community Shopping Centers
The Company�� 12 community shopping centers range in size from 20,000 to 241,458 square feet of GLA. The community shopping centers are located in five states: Florida (one), Illinois (one), Kentucky (one), Michigan (six) and Wisconsin (three). The Company�� community shopping centers are located in high traffic centers, in which customers of its tenants purchase day-to-day necessities. The Company�� community shopping centers are anchored by national tenants.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
The position vacated by Salix in the S&P SmallCap 600 will be filled by Agree Realty (NYSE: ADC ) . Elsewhere on that index, DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ: DXPE ) �will replace True Religion Apparel (NASDAQ: TRLG ) . As with Gardner Denver in the S&P MidCap 400, True Religion Apparel is being acquired, in this case by private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners.
- [By Eric Volkman]
Agree Realty (NYSE: ADC ) this week declared a second-quarter distribution of $0.41 per share to be paid on July 9 to shareholders of record as of June 28.
- [By Brad Thomas]
In the Triple-Net classroom, I consider Agree Realty (ADC) to be a "terrific kid." Like my younger bambino, Agree does not set any big records but they always show up ready to perform the best, every day.
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL)
Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) is a bank holding company. The Company provides full-service banking and lending to locally owned businesses, professional firms, real estate developers and investors, local non-profit organizations, high net worth individuals and other consumers through its three wholly owned subsidiary banks (the Banks): Bank of Nevada (BON), operating in Southern Nevada; Western Alliance Bank (WAB), operating in Arizona and Northern Nevada, and Torrey Pines Bank (TPB), operating in California. In addition, the Company�� non-bank subsidiaries, Shine Investment Advisory Services, Inc. (Shine) and Western Alliance Equipment Finance (WAEF), offer an array of financial products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and their proprietors, including financial planning, custody and investments, and equipment leasing nationwide. It operates in four segments: Bank of Nevada, Western Alliance Bank, Torrey Pines Bank and Other.
The Company provides a range of banking services, as well as investment advisory services, through its consolidated subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2011, WAL owned an 80% interest in Shine. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 24.9% interest in Miller/Russell & Associates, Inc. (MRA), an investment advisor. MRA provides investment advisory services to individuals, foundations, retirement plans and corporations.
Lending Activities
Through the Company�� banking segments, the Company provides a variety of financial services to customers, including commercial real estate loans, construction and land development loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. Loans to businesses consisted 89.2% of the total loan portfolio at December 31, 2011. Loans to finance the purchase or refinancing of commercial real estate (CRE) and loans to finance inventory and working capital that are additionally secured by CRE make up the majority of its loan portfolio. These CRE loans are secured by apartment buildings, professional of! fices, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial properties. As of December 31, 2011, 49% of its CRE loans were owner-occupied. Owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are loans secured by owner-occupied nonfarm nonresidential properties for which the primary source of repayment (more than 50%) is the cash flow from the ongoing operations and activities conducted by the borrower who owns the property. Non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are commercial real estate loans for which the primary source of repayment is nonaffiliated rental income associated with the collateral property.
Construction and land development loans include multi-family apartment projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers and medical facilities. Commercial and industrial loans include working capital lines of credit, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans. Commercial loans are primarily originated to small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries. Consumer loans are generally offered at a higher rate and shorter term than residential mortgages. Its consumer loans include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, credit card loans, and personal lines of credit. As of December 31, 2011, its loan portfolio totaled $4.68 billion, or approximately 68.4% of its total assets.
Investment Activities
All of the Company�� investment securities are classified as available-for-sale (AFS) or held-to-maturity (HTM). As of December 31, 2011, the Company had an investment securities portfolio of $1.48 billion, representing approximately 21.7% of its total assets. As of December 31, 2011, its investment securities portfolio consisted of the United States Government sponsored agency securities, Municipal obligations, Adjustable-rate preferred stock, Mutual funds, Corporate bonds, Direct the United States obligation and government-! sponsored! enterprise (GSE) residential mortgage-backed securities, private label residential mortgage-backed securities, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investments, Trust preferred securities, Private label commercial mortgage-backed securities, and Collateralized debt obligations.
Sources of Funds
The Company offers a variety of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and other types of deposit accounts, including fixed-rate, fixed maturity retail certificates of deposit. As of December 31, 2011, the deposit portfolio consisted of 27.5% non-interest bearing deposits and 72.5% interest-bearing deposits. Non-interest bearing deposits consist of non-interest bearing checking account balances. In addition to its deposit base, it has access to other sources of funding, including Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) advances, repurchase agreements and unsecured lines of credit with other financial institutions.
Financial Products and Services
In addition to traditional commercial banking activities, the Company offers other financial services to customers, including Internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Through Shine, a full-service financial advisory firm, the Company offers financial planning and investment management.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Investment Biker]
Investment Summary: This article is on Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), a growth-oriented commercial lender in the Southwest. The banks looks set to improve profitability supported by economic recovery in Last Vegas, industry-leading revenue performance and operating leverage supported by expense control. The credit profile of the bank looks excellent with limited exposure to residential mortgage and well poised to grow its loan portfolio by 20% annually over the next 3 years. It is also well set on a path to credit recovery with improving fundamentals that justifies premium valuation going forward.
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV)
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (the Fund) seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted bond index with a short-term, dollar-weighted average maturity. The Fund employs a passive management or indexing strategy designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Bond Index (the Index). The Index includes all medium and larger issues of the United States Government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities of between 1 and 5 years and are publicly issued. The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund�� investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of its assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is The Vanguard Group, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:- [By GURUFOCUS]
In addition to individual stocks several funds pay a monthly dividend. Below is a sampling of these:
Monthly Bond Funds- iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Credit Bond (CSJ) | Yield: 1.29%
- Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) | Yield: 1.25%
- Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) | Yield: 2.96%
- Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) | Yield: 4.42%
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV)
iShares Lehman Short Treasury Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the short-term sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Lehman Brothers Short U.S. Treasury Index (the Index). The Index includes all publicly issued United States Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of between 1 and 12 months, and have more than $250 million or more of outstanding face value. In addition, the securities must be denominated in United States dollars, and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible securities. Excluded from the Index are certain special issues, such as flower bonds, targeted investor notes, and state and local government series bonds (SLG5), and coupon issues that have been stripped from assets that are already included in the Index.
The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index. The Fund generally will invest at least 95% of its assets in the United States Government bonds. The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Donald van Deventer]
Shorter-duration Treasury Exchange-Traded Funds: (SHY), (SHV), (IEI), (BIL), (TUZ), (FIVZ), (DTUL), (VGSH), (DTUS), (DFVS), (DFVL), (SST), (ISTB), (TBZ).
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: Bank of Ireland (BKIR)
Bank of Ireland and its subsidiaries provide a range of banking and other financial services. The Company operates in five segments: Retail Ireland, Bank of Ireland Life, Retail UK, Corporate and Treasury and Group Centre. Group Centre includes capital management activities, unallocated Group support costs and the cost of the Credit Institutions. Retail Ireland distributes a range of financial products and services through the Bank�� branch operations in the Republic of Ireland and through its direct channels. The Company operates in the life and pensions market in Ireland through its wholly owned subsidiary New Ireland Assurance Company plc (NAIC).Retail UK consists of Business Banking in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the branch network in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom residential mortgage business and the business activities with the United Kingdom Post Office. Corporate and Treasury division consists of Corporate Banking, Global Markets and IBI Corporate Finance. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sarah Jones]
In Dublin, Bank of Ireland (BKIR) slipped 3.4 percent to 14.1 euro cents and Permanent TSB Group Holdings Plc (IPM) tumbled 13 percent to 2.6 cents. Allied Irish Banks Plc (ALBK), which is owned by the state, slid 1.5 percent to 6.5 cents.
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: NMI Holdings Inc (NMIHZ)
NMI Holdings, Inc. (NMIH), incorporated on May 19, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company through its subsidiaries provides private mortgage insurance in the United States. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiaries include National Mortgage Insurance Corporation and National Mortgage Reinsurance Inc One.
On April 24, 2012, NMI Holdings, Inc. (NMI) closed an agreement with MAC Financial Ltd. to acquire MAC Financial Holdings Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries. On September 30, 2013, the Company merged MAC Financial Holding Corporation into NMIH, with NMIH surviving the merger, and it merged NMRI Two into NMIC, with NMIC surviving the merger.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Zachary Tracer]
NMI Holdings Inc. (NMIHZ), a mortgage insurer backed by funds tied to Carlyle Group LP (CG) and Kyle Bass, filed to sell shares in an initial public offering as investors bet on a housing-market rebound.
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: City National Corporation (CYN)
City National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for City National Bank that provides various banking, investing, and trust services to small to mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals, and affluent individuals. Its deposit products include demand and interest checking deposits, savings deposits, and money market accounts. The company�s loan portfolio comprises commercial loans, including lease financing; residential mortgage loans; commercial real estate mortgages; real estate construction loans; equity lines of credit; and installment loans. It also offers cash management, international banking, equipment financing, and other products and services. In addition, the company provides investment management, advisory, and brokerage services, including portfolio management, securities trading, and asset management; personal and business trust and investment services comprising employee benefit trust services, and 401(k) and defined benefit plans; and estate and financial planning, and custodial services. Further, it offers various asset classes and investment styles, including fixed-income instruments, mutual funds, domestic and international equities, and alternative investments, such as hedge funds. City National Corporation provides its services through 79 offices, including 16 full-service regional centers in Southern California; the San Francisco Bay area; Nevada; New York City; Nashville, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Maxfield]
Given that you clicked on this article, it seems safe to assume you either own stock in City National Corp. (NYSE: CYN ) or are considering buying shares in the near future. If so, then you've come to the right place. The table below reveals the nine most critical numbers that investors need to know about City National stock before deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold it.
Top 10 Financial Companies To Invest In 2015: Brazilian Real(BK)
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a financial services company, provides various products and services worldwide. The company offers a range of equity, fixed income, cash, and alternative/overlay products, as well as distributes investment management products. It also provides investment management, wealth and estate planning, and private banking solutions to high-net-worth individuals and families, charitable gift programs, endowments and foundations, and related entities, as well as offers mutual funds, separate accounts, and annuities. In addition, the company provides global custody and fund, securities lending, investment manager outsourcing, performance and risk analytics, alternative investment, securities clearance, collateral management, corporate trust, broker-dealer, and employee investment plan services, as well as clearing services and global payment/working capital solutions to institutional clients. Further, it offers American and global depositary re ceipt programs, cash management solutions, payment services, liquidity services, foreign exchange, global clearing and execution, managed account services, and global prime brokerage solutions to corporations, public funds, government agencies, foundations, and endowments; global financial institutions, including banks, broker-dealers, asset managers, insurance companies and central banks; and financial intermediaries, independent registered investment advisors, and hedge fund managers. Additionally, the company provides credit-related services, and global markets and institutional banking services; engages in business exits, and corporate treasury activities; and leases financing portfolios. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation was founded in 1784 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) got its capital plan approved. So did the Bank of New York Mellon (BK) and Capital One Financial (COF). Citigroup (C), however, was left out in the cold after the Fed rejected its capital plans because of its “deficiencies” in capital planning and despite passing the Fed’s stress test.
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Wednesday
Earnings Expected From: Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK), Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Economic Releases Expected: US Beige Book, Canadian manufacturing sales, US CPIThursday
- [By John Grgurich]
Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK ) reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and while tidings are grim, they're aren't quite as grim as they first appear. Here are three key takeaways for investors.
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