Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2016: May 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Report: FBI, SEC probe Icahn, Mickelson and…

Federal investigators have launched what the Wall Street Journal is calling "a major insider-trading probe involving finance, gambling and sports" that involves the trading of activist investor Carl Icahn, pro golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas bettor William "Billy" Walters.

According to a story published on the Journal website late Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are probing whether Mickelson and Walters illegally traded on nonpublic information they allegedly obtained from Icahn about his investments in public companies. The Journal story attributed the information to "people briefed on the probe."

The feds are said to be investigating whether the past three years Icahn illegally provided Walters — well known in Vegas for his sports-betting abilities — about potentially market-moving investments by Icahn's company, Icahn Enterprises, the Journal story said.

Icahn, Mickelson and Walters are quoted in the article as denying any knowledge of a probe or declining comment.

"We do not know of any investigation," Mr. Icahn told the Journal Friday. "We are always very careful to observe all legal requirements in all of our activities." The suggestion that he was involved in improper trading, he said, was "inflammatory and speculative."

Mickelson is in Dublin, Ohio, playing The Memorial presented by Nationwide Insurance. He shot 70 on Friday to make the cut and is scheduled to tee off Saturday at 10:27 am ET.

Citing anonymous sources, the Journal story said the government probe started three years ago after Icahn accumulated a 9.1% stake in Clorox in February 2011. On July 15, 2011, he made a $10.2 billion offer for Clorox that caused the stock to jump.

"Well-timed trading around the time of his bid caught the attention of investigators, who began digging into the suspicious trading in Clorox stock, the people familiar with the probe said," according to the Journal article.

Clorox ultimately rejected Ica! hn's bid. He later launched a proxy battle, proposing a slate to replace the company's board with 11 of his nominees. In September 2011, he ended the proxy fight and by year-end had sold his Clorox stake.

According to the Journal, "the investigators later expanded their probe to look at trading patterns by Walters and Mickelson relating to Dean Foods, said the people briefed on the probe.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

After a Big Rally, Are Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Shares Too Pricey?

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC ) has been one of the best-performing large energy stocks this year, with shares up nearly 30% year to date. The company's outperformance is due largely to a favorable settlement of the Tronox case, in which Anadarko was required to pay a much lower-than-expected penalty for environmental liabilities.

But despite the significant uplift in Anadarko's valuation, I think the company may still be reasonably undervalued. Given its exceptional track record of deepwater success and massive opportunity in the Delaware Basin's Wolfcamp shale -- one of the most promising new oil discoveries in America -- I think Anadarko shares deserve to command a premium valuation.

Photo credit: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

Barclays downgrade
Barclays recently downgraded Anadarko to Equal Weight from Overweight, citing valuation concerns, though the bank maintains a $111 price target on the stock. Barclays' analyst Thomas Driscoll explained that, despite Anadarko's strong asset portfolio and impressive track record, there is better value elsewhere in the energy sphere.

He mentioned Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR ) , EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG ) , and Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL ) as three similarly sized companies that look more attractive from a valuation standpoint. All three are likely to grow twice as fast as Anadarko, yet trade at comparable valuations in terms of debt-adjusted cash-flow multiples using 2015 cash flow estimates (7.6x, 6.1x and 7.2x for Continental, EOG, and Noble, respectively, as compared to 7.3x for Anadarko Petroleum).

While I do agree with his argument that there is better value elsewhere among the large independent E&Ps, I think Anadarko still presents reasonable value at its current price of around $100 a share. This is mainly because I think the company deserves a premium multiple over most of its peers given its exceptional track record of deepwater success and its massive opportunity in the Delaware Basin.

Why Anadarko deserves a premium valuation
Along with Statoil (NYSE: STO ) , which was last year's leading oil and gas explorer in terms of total volume of conventional oil and gas discovered, Anadarko is one of the best deepwater oil and gas drillers in the world. Last year, it achieved an industry-leading 67% success rate on its deepwater exploration and appraisal wells.

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In the Gulf of Mexico, encouraging appraisal results from the Shenandoah Basin, as well as the Coronado and Yucatan discoveries, suggest the company could be sitting on some of the most prolific deepwater blocks in the entire Gulf of Mexico -- suggesting major long-term upside from their development.

In addition to its robust portfolio of deepwater opportunities, Anadarko maintains sizable stakes in south Texas' Eagle Ford shale, Colorado's Wattenberg field, and west Texas' Delaware Basin. While the Eagle Ford and Wattenberg are already key drivers of the company's oil production growth, its massive opportunity in the Delaware Basin's emerging Wolfcamp shale -- hailed as potentially one of the largest oil and gas discoveries in America -- may not be reflected in its share price.

Anadarko, which boasts roughly 600,000 gross acres in the Wolfcamp, has been aggressively ramping up activity in the play with highly encouraging results so far. Six wells drilled in the third quarter of 2013 yielded gross processed IP rates in the range of 1,000 to 1,600 BOE per day, while first-quarter Wolfcamp sales volumes grew almost threefold over the fourth quarter of 2013. This year, Anadarko plans to drill more than 80 Wolfcamp wells using an 8-10 rig drilling program.

Crucially, the company has already identified more than 1,000 drilling locations across the acreage it has evaluated so far, which represents just a fifth of its total acreage. As the company de-risks its remaining acreage, significant upside could result from the existence of numerous stacked-pay intervals, which could meaningfully boost the company's resource base and its net asset value (NAV) -- an almost certain catalyst to boost its share price.

Investor takeaway
Anadarko may not be as compelling an investment opportunity as it was earlier this year, when uncertainty surrounding the Tronox case severely depressed its valuation, but I think it still presents decent near-term upside and compelling long-term value given its high-quality and diversified global portfolio, exceptional track record of deepwater success, and massive opportunity in the Delaware Basin.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

That Shifty S.O.B. Pied Piper Of Bonds

How many red faces in the bond crowd? Long Treasuries were supposed to zip up to a 4.5% yield with 10-year paper at 3.5%. Bunches of "smart" money shorted 30-year Treasuries with impunity. What happened, fellas?

The bull run in fixed income is easy to explain. So far, the economy limps along. Retailers like Wal-Mart post sluggish numbers and capital goods activity doesn't kick in. So, we've got a depressed GDP sector along with negative exports. The Fed still tells everyone who can read that deflation is the serious issue for the country as well as unemployment.

Everyone waits for home starts to recover but they don't, despite attractive terms on 30-year mortgages, below 4.25%. Historically, this is a bargain. Yes, home prices have risen substantively but so have rentals. I find the rental-to-buy ratio for housing a peripheral coincident indicator.

For better or worse, the history of interest rates during the entire postwar period is etched into my brain. There is no normal rate for the country. Treasuries key off budget deficits, inflation, the growth rate for GDP and trade surpluses or deficits.

The bond crowd forever is hypersensitive to any change in these variables. It can riffle into new alignment in a month or two, with volatility equivalent to a 10% move in the S&P 500, up or down. Treasuries with long duration levitated 10% year-to-date.

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Does anyone but me remember when Federal agency 5-year notes yielded 15% in 1982? I'm a prisoner of apperceptive mass on Treasuries going back 60 years. The trendline for 10-year and 30-year paper ranges around 5%. For LIBOR we are talking nearly 4%, not next to zero.

I'd chance equities rather than inventory Treasuries so far below historic trendlines. Yield disparity between 10-year Treasuries and BB corporates stands under 300 basis points, down from 500 a couple of years ago.

The high yield bond sector contains all the prisoners of yield starvation who have given in. To hell with all this yield compression. We need income. Let's buy some low rated corporate bank debt packages, too. After all, they yield 4% and are a play on rising LIBOR somewhere lurking in the bushes.

Such rationalization invariably comes home to roost, uncomfortably. I'm inventorying over a dozen preferred stocks selling at or below their $25 call price and yielding 6.5%. The problem is almost all preferred stocks are issued by financial houses – banks, brokers and insurance underwriters. They're all below investment grade.

In the financial meltdown of 2008 – '09, Bank of America's Bank of America's preferreds touched down at $5 a share. They became one decision pieces of paper. If the bank stayed in business the paper was golden, destined to tick at $25, the current quote.

But, anyone who looks at preferred stocks other than pure equity is due for an unpleasant surprise sooner or later. Consider that Fannie Mae Fannie Mae defaulted on its huge issue of preferred stock during the banking crisis. Much of this paper was held by institutions in their pension funds.

If the U.S. Treasury had allowed a default on federal agency paper, losses would have run into trillions, literally decimating institutional portfolios, creating gut wrenching actuarial issues for pension funds in corporate, state and municipal sectors.

Even now, trouble is brewing in New Jersey, New York City and possibly New York State. Governors and mayors all across the country thirst to defer pension fund allocations for years ahead. Governor Cuomo posts IOU's into his state funds. New Jersey is deferring past due funding while Mayor de Blasio has agreed to contract settlements with the teachers union that cost the city billions next couple of years.

The rally in municipal paper, especially New York State and New York City issues, reflects the financial health of the stock market and earnings for Wall Street's banks and brokerage houses, a cyclical phenomenon. How long can the state and city live off capital gains taxes posted by the top 1%? Some AA, 20-year maturities I hold have risen over 20%, past couple of years. Enough is enough!

I never expected the latest surge in yield flattening. Yes, the Fed has disenfranchised savers who earn zilch on money market funds. The flight into the dollar goes on. Where can the Chinese go with their export earnings? If Germany sets the example we could see 10-year Treasuries at a 1% yield. Even poor Greece which was unbankable 4 years ago, floated 5-year paper yielding 4.75%, the deal wildly oversubscribed. Our 5-year paper yields 0.7%, practically confiscatory.

The bull market case for the fixed income sector is too much invested capital still seeks a home there. Pension funds fear putting the lion's share of cash flow into equities. This is understandable considering everyone is using unrealistically high discount rates on pension fund obligations.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Did Microsoft Just Buy Another Tablet Launch?

Nokia's (NYSE: NOK ) rumored "Sirius" tablet was expected to launch as early as this month, just as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) is likely preparing to launch two new Surface models in the near term. That would potentially mean Microsoft effectively has three tablets about to be launched.

Meanwhile, Microsoft runs a big risk of alienating other OEMs that it now competes with directly. This risk could even potentially bleed into other markets that matter more to Microsoft, since many of these manufacturers also make PCs and other Windows devices.

In the following video, Erin Kennedy discusses the implications of Microsoft's deal with Nokia with Evan Niu, CFA, and Eric Bleeker, CFA.

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Is VeriFone A Buy?

Provider of electronic payment solutions, VeriFone Systems (PAY), lit up the Street with its first-quarter results by beating analysts' expectations. Investors were overwhelmed by the company's surprising performance, sending shares higher.

Delving deeper...

Both revenue and earnings per share were ahead of estimates, as they increased 2% and 36%, respectively. VeriFone managed to increase its revenue by having an installed base of 20 million terminals across 150 countries. However, the company has a list of issues which are yet to be resolved.

The hurdles faced

The biggest problem for VeriFone has been a lack of research and development efforts which led to bigger problems such as lack of product certifications and loss of customers. As a result, it lost market share in most of the markets despite decreasing product prices. Moreover, loss of a U.S. petroleum deal will be affecting revenue from the region even more.

Against industry players

In an environment where innovation is the key to a successful business, the electronic payment company has been lagging behind. Hence, VeriFone faces stiff competition from its industry peers who have been continuously making the right moves.

One of its strongest rivals, NCR Corporation (NCR), has been getting some great contracts to deliver its technology. Its expansion in China looks interesting with China Eastern Airlines expanding NCR check-in kiosks for its domestic airports.

NCR's expansion has been remarkable as it will also be delivering its technology solutions to shopping malls in China. The company has been very active and has been investing in a number of payment technologies. Its new orders to supply ATMs in China and other deals highlight the growth of this company.

Even Square is an important player with its best move being in mobile payments. The launch of its mobile payment platform set the market on fire, especially when coffee retailer Starbucks (SBUX) invested its money to adopt the new technology. Starbucks announced that all its transactions will be processed by Square.

Square's innovation enabled the coffee maker to attract customers in hordes since this technology provided a convenient way of paying for their coffee. Starbucks has been reaping the benefit which is evident from its move to ramp up its mobile payment system. The retailer also announced that 10% of its transactions are done through smartphones, signifying the success story of both Square and Starbucks.

On the other hand, VeriFone was a laggard with negligible efforts to innovate. However, there have been some improvements during the last quarter that are worth noting.

Interesting moves

It has made two new acquisitions, EFTPOS New Zealand Ltd. and Sektor, which will help in revenue growth. It has been focussing on payment-as-a-service segment in regions such as New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. since the segment is growing at a rate of 11% to 13%.

VeriFone also launched the taxi payment application called Way2ride which might prove to be fruitful for the company's prospects.

Its other moves such as making various applications available for tablets, such as GlobalBay Merchant and renewing existing contracts might help the company to stage a comeback.

Additionally, VeriFone has been performing well in its Services segment, which grew 17% during the quarter. This segment continues to perform well with growth in revenue during each quarter. Moreover, the company has been increasing its investments in R&D and paid off $160 million of debt during the quarter.

The bottom line

The company has been making a lot of effort to improve its performance. With increasing revenue and a stock price surge of 25.9%, VeriFone seems like an interesting investment. However, it faces stiff competition from its peers. Though the competition has been tough the payment solutions provider has started making some moves. Hence, investors should give this company a thought.

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Monday, May 26, 2014

5 Best Defense Stocks To Watch For 2015

5 Best Defense Stocks To Watch For 2015: Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RYCEY)

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, formerly Rolls-Royce Group plc is a provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air. The Company operates in four segments: civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy. The civil aerospace is engaged in development, manufacture, marketing and sales of commercial aero engines and aftermarket services. The defense aerospace is engaged in development, manufacture, marketing and sales of military aero engines and aftermarket services. The marine segment is engaged in development, manufacture, marketing and sales of marine propulsion systems and aftermarket services. The energy segment is engaged in development, manufacture, marketing and sales of power systems for the offshore oil and gas industry and electrical power generation and aftermarket services. In January 2013, the Company bought PKMJ Technical Services. In January 2013, Alstom SA acquired Tidal Generation Limited from the Company.

During the year ended December 31, 2010, it acquired ODIM ASA. In June 2011, Daimler AG and Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC had secured around 94% interest in Tognum AG-DJ. In September 2011, the Company acquired R Brooks Associates.

Civil aerospace

The Company's civil aerospace business provides the powers for 30 different types of commercial aircraft in a range of markets, such as widebody, narrowbody, corporate and regional aircraft. As of December 31, 2010, it had over 13,000 engines in service with 650 airlines, freight operators and lessors and 4,000 corporate operators. Its civil aerospace products include large aircraft engines, small aircraft engines and helicopter engines. The Company's Trent 700 is an engine on the Airbus A330. The Trent 1000 is powering the Boeing 787 on the aircraft's flight test schedule. It provides a range of ser! vices, such as TotalCare, CorporateCare, helicopters services, financial services, training and technical publicat ions.

Defence Aerospace

The Compan! y is a provider of defence aero-engine products and services, with 18,000 engines in service for 160 customers in 103 countries. It is also the supplier of engines for transport aircraft globally, powering fleets, such as the C-130, C-130J, Spartan C-27 and Osprey V-22. It is also involved in research projects, such as Adoptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT), which is designed to reduce fuel consumption. Its engines power aircraft in all sectors, such as transport, combat, reconnaissance, training, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. The defense aerospace segment of the Company provides engines power aircraft in all sectors, such as transport, combat, reconnaissance, training, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Its products include combat jets, helicopters, transporters, trainers, tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and distributed generation systems. It provides a range of services, such as training, technical publications and service locations.

Marine

The Company focuses on power, propulsion and motion control solutions and serves over 2,500 customers and has equipment installed on 30,000 vessels operating worldwide. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had 650 designed and equipped vessels operating in the offshore oil and gas sector. As of December 31, 2010, it had more than 2,500 marine customers and has equipment installed on over 30,000 vessels worldwide, including those of 70 navies. The energy business supplies gas turbines, compressors and diesel power units. Its products include automation and control, bearings and seals, deck machinery, electrical power systems, engines, gears, propulsors, ship design, shiplifts and submarine equipment. It provides a range of services, such as global support network, spares and tools, field shop services, technical support, traini! ng, tailo! red solutions and upgrading.

Energy

The Company is a provider of gas turbines for on shore and offshore applications. The Company's energy busi! ness is e! ngaged in two activities: supply power to the oil and gas sector, and the provision of power generation products and services. Its products include gas engines, gas turbine engines, gas compression, diesel engines, fuel cells, and automation and control systems. Its services consist of long term service agreements, component supply and technical support, distributed generation systems and training. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it conducted a range of a tidal power turbine, anchored on the sea bed off the coast of Scotland. During 2010, this had generated 500 kilo-watt at full power and has been successfully linked into the national grid.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Alan Oscroft]
Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR ) (NASDAQOTH: RYCEY )
Having reached 1,148 pence this morning to set a new 52-week high, Rolls-Royce Holdings shares are now up 40% since this time last year. That was partly due to a strong 2012, which saw a 22% rise in earnings per share and an 11% rise in the dividend -- albeit with a modest yield of 2.2% on the year-end price.
[By Rich Smith]
The Department of Defense ended the week with a bang (if you'll pardon the expression) on Friday, awarding no fewer than 29 separate contracts worth more than $951 million in aggregate. Publicly traded companies securing contracts included:

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-defense-stocks-to-watch-for-2015.html

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Hot High Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now

Hot High Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Credit Acceptance Corporation(CACC)

Credit Acceptance Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides auto loans, and related products and services to consumers in the United States. Its loan programs include portfolio program, which advances money to dealer-partners in exchange for the right to service the underlying consumer loans; and purchase program that buys the consumer loans from the dealer-partners and keeps amounts collected from the consumers. The company markets its products through a network of approximately 55,000 independent and franchised automobile dealers. Credit Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Eric Volkman]
Credit Acceptance (NASDAQ: CACC ) will see big blocks of its shares change hands over the next few days. The company has specified the pricing of a previously announced underwritten public secondary stock common offering of $105.00 per share. Trusts associated with the firm's founder Donald Foss, in combination with Karol Foss and people and entities connected with Prescott General Partners, aim to sell a combined 1.5 million of their shares. Additionally, the underwriters will have a 30-day option to buy up to an extra 225,000 shares.
[By Richard Moroney]
Credit Acceptance (CACC) provides financing for auto purchases through a national network of nearly 4,500 car dealers. Its programs help dealers sell cars by attracting credit-challenged consumers unable to get conventional loans.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-high-dividend-companies-to-watch-in-right-now.html

Saturday, May 24, 2014

The Dangers of Debt for Offshore Drillers

One potential risk that all investors should pay attention to is the level of debt held by the companies that they are invested in. This is because paying debt is a fixed commitment. Unlike stock buyback programs or dividend payments, a company can't arbitrarily reduce the amount it pays toward debt if its business slows down and causes its free cash flow to decline.

Of course, we can't just compare the debt levels of two companies of dramatically different sizes directly because a much larger company will have much more money coming in to cover this debt. Instead, we need to use measures such as the debt-to-equity ratio.

The debt-to-equity ratio is a method of comparing the relative debt levels of two companies of different sizes on an equal footing. Because a company doesn't have to guarantee a return on its equity the way it does on its debt, equity is often considered to be a much safer way for a company to raise money.

Illustration
To illustrate this concept and examine how it can be a risk, let's take a look at the debt-to-equity ratios of several offshore drilling companies. The five companies that we will compare are Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL ) , Transocean (NYSE: RIG ) , Ensco (NYSE: ESV ) , Noble, and Diamond Offshore.

Company Name	Total Debt	Total Equity	Debt-to-Equity Ratio
Seadrill	$14.9 billion	$8.2 billion	1.82
Transocean	$10.5 billion	$17.2 billion	0.61
Ensco	$4.8 billion	$12.9 billion	0.37
Noble	$4.4 billion	$7.5 billion	0.59
Diamond Offshore	$2.5 billion	$4.6 billion	0.54

Source: Company Statements

As the chart shows, Ensco has a substantially lower amount of debt relative to its equity than its peer companies do. Meanwhile, Seadrill stands out as having a substantially higher level of debt than its peers. This shows us that the two companies have very different risk profiles.

Exposure to revenue downturns
Seadrill would be much more affected by a downturn in the industry that causes the company's free cash flow to decline than Ensco would. This is because Seadrill has to pay a fixed amount to maintain this debt load (as does Ensco); if a downturn causes its revenues to decline too much, the company could run into financial trouble as it would be unable to afford its interest payments. Ensco also has this same risk, but its earnings would need to decline much further before it runs into trouble.

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Rolling over debt
Another potential risk could present itself when it comes to rolling over debt. This is due to the fact that all debt eventually matures, at which point the indebted company must either pay off the loan with cash or take out another loan to pay off the first one. This second option is called "rolling over debt."

The risk has to do with the fact that there are times, particularly when an industry or company is particularly weak, that it may be difficult to get a new loan. If the company doesn't have the money to pay off the loan at that time then it may be forced to resort to other methods of generating cash, including selling off assets. In the case of an offshore drilling company, this could mean selling off income-producing assets such as drilling rigs. This would have an adverse impact on future earnings. If the company can't do this then it would likely be forced into financial insolvency; this typically causes a company's share price to plunge dramatically.

Benefits of leverage
Like anything in finance, there is a risk/reward trade-off associated with the use of leverage. Seadrill, for example, can offer some benefits to investors that a less levered company like Ensco cannot. Foremost among these is faster per-share growth. By using debt to obtain the money to grow instead of issuing stock, Seadrill can ensure that the higher earnings that this growth results in is spread around the same number of shares. This benefits stockholders who may see a higher return than with a company that uses more conservative financing such as Ensco.

In conclusion, it is important to understand both the risks and benefits of high leverage when determining whether an investment is right for you. A highly leveraged company can typically generate more rapid earnings and cash flow growth on a per-share basis, but it is also a strategy that exposes the company to higher risk in the case of a downturn. In the end, we all need to determine what is the right investment for us.

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Friday, May 23, 2014

CFP Board to Investigate CFPs for Inaccurate Comp Disclosure

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards sent a letter Wednesday to all 70,000 CFP certificants explaining a new investigative process the Board will take to identify certificants who inaccurately disclose their compensation methods on the Board website’s “Find a CFP” tool.

Board Chairman Ray Ferrara, CFP, said in an interview Wednesday that the investigation will begin with those who call themselves fee-only advisors “because that’s where there’s the biggest opportunity for confusion and potential abuse.”

The investigation will be conducted, said Ferrara, “on a risk-adjusted basis, randomly” selecting certificants who have ticked the “fee only” box on its website, then consulting information “in the public domain to make sure the compensation they’ve disclosed is what’s consistent with their actual business practices.” That information, said Ferrara, will start with an “informal check-in” with the certificant but will also include “social media, a website, a form ADV, anything else that we could Google” about the certificant.

CEO Kevin Keller said in the same interview that “our real objective is to help facilitate compliance. It’s not to play 'Gotcha!' or catch people doing things wrong but to help them comply with our standards.”

In the letter, the interview and in an op-ed in Investment News, Ferrara admitted that the Board “could have done a better job” in “rolling out our Find a CFP tool, especially when we added compensation as a choice.” He also said that “when we recognized there might be multiple people who did not have the proper box checked” concerning compensation on the site, “we made a decision and took down all 8,000 and sent out a notice, said these are our rules, double check and put yourselves back up in the proper box.” In addition, “at that time we said there would be additional steps taking place, and if we find anyone has still misrepresented their compensation we might open up an investigation.”

The issue with the CFP Board’s compensation came to light first with the departure of former CFP Board Chairman Alan Goldfarb and three other Board members following a sanction over their failure to comply with the Board’s fee-only definition, and most notably via a lawsuit filed by certificants Jeff and Kim Camarda of Camarda Wealth Advisory in Fleming Island, Florida, who also fell short of the Board’s fee-only strictures.

That lawsuit continues, and Ferrara said Tuesday that “with regards to the case … the Board has consistently said that we want to defend this lawsuit vigorously because it goes to the heart of who we are and what we stand for.” Specifically, he said the Board “provided the Camardas with a full and fair process, which was the same process that anyone who has allegations made against them” will receive. The Board’s disciplinary and ethics commission, and the appeals committee “made up of the board of directors agreed” in the Camardas' case “that the rules were broken and we won’t back down from the court case.” /* .premium-promo { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px; float: left; } .premium-promo li, .premium-promo ul { list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; } .premium-promo li { margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0 0 10px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #ddd; } .premium-promo h3 { text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 11px; } .premium-promo h4 { font-size: 16px; } .premium-promo a { text-decoration: none !important; } .premium-promo .btn { background: #0069a1; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; padding: 5px 10px; clear: both; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; } .premium-promo .btn:hover { background: #034c92; } */ In fact, those certificants who are investigated under the Board’s new process and whose compensation is identified as being inconsistent will go through the same process as the Camardas, Ferrara said. If the Board’s investigation finds out that a ‘fee-only’ CFP is, for instance, “licensed with five insurance companies, that will obviously cause us to do a referral to our professional standards department which will begin the normal investigative process and follow the full and fair process that the Camardas and others who have been in the news recently went through.”

In addition to its investigation of CFPs who call themselves fee only, the Board also announced in its letter that it is offering “any company, no matter how large or small, to contact us through their compliance officers” to report any CFPs at their firms who have listed themselves as fee only and are not. “They’ll be taken down, to keep inadvertent errors from occurring.”

Ferrara stressed that “CFP Board is compensation- and business-model neutral,” that “competent and ethical financial planning can be done regardless of business model,” and moreover “that it can be done with the fiduciary standard of care when practicing financial planning. Every professional at all times must put the needs of the clients ahead of his or her own.”

---

Check out How to Break Impasse Over CFP Board’s Comp Disclosure Rules by Michael Kitces on ThinkAdvisor.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

New Hire Roundup: NASDAQ OMX Names Wittman Head of Equities

This week in personnel announcements and new hires, NASDAQ OMX named Thomas Wittman global head of equities, Kira Bazile joined North Street Global as president, Citi Private Bank announced changes in its family office leadership, and Pax World hired Steven Falci as chief investment officer.

Also, Franklin Templeton Investments has named Tim Buckeridge as director of VAIO sales, Tiffani Boskovich was named portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank in Denver; Alison Smith moved up at Tiger 21; and U.S. Bank made two personnel announcements in the Salt Lake City area.

Whitman to Head Global Equities at NASDAQ OMX

The NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. announced that it has appointed Thomas Wittman executive vice president, global head of equities. He will report directly to Hans-Ole Jochumsen, president, global trading and market services.

Wittman was recently senior vice president, head of U.S. equities and derivatives and president of NASDAQ OMX PHLX. Earlier he was vice president of U.S. options. He joined NASDAQ OMX in 2008 through the acquisition of PHLX, formerly the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.

North Street Global Welcomes Bazile as President

North Street Global has announced that Kira Bazile has joined the firm as president.

In the prime brokerage component of the hedge fund industry for more than 17 years, most recently Bazile was a managing director at BTIG. She began her prime brokerage career at Goldman Sachs in 1997. She then worked at Deutsche Bank for eight years.

Citi Private Bank Changes Family Office Leadership

Citi Private Bank has announced that William Woodson will join the firm in June as managing director and head of the North America family office group. He will be based in West Palm Beach and report jointly to Peter Charrington, CEO, Citi Private Bank, North America, and Catherine Weir, global head of family office group, Citi Private Bank. Stephen Campbell, formerly head of the group, has been named chairman for the North America family office group.

Woodson joins from Credit Suisse, which he joined in 2007 to lead the firm’s multifamily office practice and wealth planning group, and where he most recently headed the ultra-high-net-worth and family office business for the North American private bank. A tax professional by training, he spent a decade in public accounting with both Coopers & Lybrand and Arthur Andersen before leaving to run the family office for one of his largest clients. He was a founding member and managing director of myCFO and worked as a private banker with the Merrill Lynch private banking and investment group before joining Credit Suisse.

Campbell, with more than 25 years of financial industry experience, joined in 2011. Earlier he led investment management and technology organizations for Fidelity Investments in the U.S., Europe and Asia; founded as well as invested in early-stage venture companies; and served as CIO of a family office. /* .premium-promo { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px; float: left; } .premium-promo li, .premium-promo ul { list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; } .premium-promo li { margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0 0 10px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #ddd; } .premium-promo h3 { text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 11px; } .premium-promo h4 { font-size: 16px; } .premium-promo a { text-decoration: none !important; } .premium-promo .btn { background: #0069a1; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; padding: 5px 10px; clear: both; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; } .premium-promo .btn:hover { background: #034c92; } */ Pax World Adds Falci

Pax World Management LLC has announced that Steven Falci has joined as CIO.

Falci brings more than 30 years of experience in financial services, more than 10 of which were spent developing and overseeing sustainable investment practices. Prior to joining, he served as head of strategy development, sustainable investment at Kleinwort Benson Investors. Earlier he served as CIO, equities at Calvert Group and was a principal and senior portfolio manager at Mellon Equity Associates.

Buckeridge Moves Up at Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton Investments has named Tim Buckeridge as director of VAIO sales. He reports to Yaqub Ahmed, SVP and head of the investment-only division — U.S.

A 15-year veteran of the financial services industry, Buckeridge most recently served for 10 years covering the northeast region as a VAIO sales specialist.

Boskovich Named Wealth Manager at Private Client Reserve in Denver

Tiffani Boskovich has been named portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank in Denver.

Boskovich has over 14 years of financial services experience working in investment management and trust services for HNW individuals in Colorado and Wyoming. Prior to joining, she served as vice president, investment manager with ANB Bank in Denver where she managed the investment department within the trust division.

Smith Rises at Tiger 21

Tiger 21 has announced the promotion of Alison Smith to director of marketing and membership in New York.

Smith, who joined Tiger 21 in 2007, had been director of member relations. Earlier, she worked at Marina Maher Communications in media relations. Prior to that, she worked at the United Nations Association, where she organized and oversaw educational conferences nationwide.

U.S. Bank Makes Salt Lake City Announcements

U.S. Bank Wealth Management has announced that Brad Sawyer has joined the Private Client Reserve in Salt Lake City as wealth management advisor and Mike Poulter, SVP and Salt Lake City market leader of the Private Client Reserve, has been named chair of the Planned Giving Committee of Utah Symphony|Utah Opera (USUO).

Sawyer has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining, he served as capacity coach with Team Performance Group in Ogden, Utah.

Poulter has nearly 20 years in the financial services industry and leads a team of wealth management professionals. He has been a member of the USUO planned giving committee for eight years.

Read the May 14 New Hire Roundup at ThinkAdvisor.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Thomas Giachetti, Stark & Starkâ€™s Legal Celebrity: The 2014 IA 25

Tim Welsh of Nexus Strategy likes to call Tom Giachetti the only “celebrity securities attorney,” but Giachetti himself said he “never wanted to be a lawyer. Instead, he said he “wanted to be in the investment business.” So armed with a law degree and a master’s in economics, he first clerked for a federal judge for a year before going into investment banking in the mid-1980s. That’s where he had a client who lost $1 million at a large wirehouse. He contacted that brokerage firm on behalf of that New Jersey-based client and, without resorting to arbitration, Giachetti “got all his money back,” before he “started suing the wirehouses.”

Having some success, he found that many broker-dealers, including some wirehouses, “started calling on me” for their legal business, but Giachetti’s true entrée into becoming the most well-respected securities attorney in the advisory business, which more than qualifies him to be honored as a member of the IA 25 for 2014, began after Schwab Advisor Services asked him to review a legal matter for a Schwab client. That request led to a speech he presented at a Schwab Impact conference in San Francisco in 1991. Coming into prominence as the RIA industry began to grow in the late 1980s, Giachetti said his career focus on advisors “just ballooned; I was the right person in the right place at the right time,” taking his “background and knowledge to grow a business.”

As the chair of the securities practice at the law firm Stark & Stark, Giachetti has parlayed his combination of skills—“I’m very comfortable speaking in front of people, and I love to write”—to become a sought-after speaker who translates in blunt language, and with a Jersey verve, what regulators are looking for when they examine advisors. He not only tells advisors and broker-dealers what they should focus on to stay compliant, but also what they should avoid doing. His intent is to get advisors and reps to stay compliant—“Why risk your franchise?”—but also to put compliance efforts in their proper place. It’s important, he said, for advisors to not “spend a disproportionate amount of time on compliance issues that have no relevance to their practice and provide no value to clients.”

So what should SEC-regulated advisors worry about, and what should they ignore? “In this day and age, what they’re not worried about but should” is to think that “‘the SEC can’t be concerned about a small firm like mine.’” In fact, the SEC is concerned about smaller firms, since “they’re looking to send a very aggressive, punitive message to advisors.” While Giachetti normally doesn’t get political, he said that current SEC Chairman Mary Jo White “was brought in by the president to clean up Wall Street, and advisors have become part of Wall Street.” While White is “very capable,” he worries that she and current and past SEC commissioners may know much about the law, but fail to have adequate knowledge of the Advisers Act. Instead, White has “hired a lot of prosecutors, and what do prosecutors do? They prosecute.”

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Own Right Now

What White and the SEC fail to understand as well is that “advisors did not blow up the markets in ‘08 and ‘09; advisors are on the buy side, not the sell side.” So “the prosecutorial attitude taken by examiners,” he said, “is misplaced.” Moreover, he said actual SEC exams “are fraught with mistakes” and that the commission is using exams “to make laws that don’t exist, couching them in recommendations.” One example of misplaced exam items that Giachetti said he’s had a hand in eradicating is the anti-money laundering (AML) requirement, which he argued does not apply to RIAs.

Another example arose last year, when SEC examiners “brought in a valuation expert” during an exam of a large RIA firm to assess the value of the stocks held in a mutual fund that the advisor used. “How is that an advisor’s responsibility?” he wondered.

“In the past, the SEC was not that aggressive” and instead was “there to help, to give recommendations.” While he said there “are good people at the SEC,” it’s now taken a “different posture.”

Advisors should recall that the SEC has two primary mandates when it comes to exams: “that the [client’s] money is where it’s supposed to be” and to ensure that the advisor isn’t “doing anything to jeopardize the client’s underlying data, their personal information.” It’s not the SEC’s mandate to “figure out if you’re a good money manager.” He said that there is a way to resolve the current situation where SEC commissioners and examiners “don’t know anything about the ‘40 Act,” jokingly promising that if he were put on the commission, “I just want six months as commissioner, and I can fix it.”

On the broker-dealer side, he said it’s “clear that the commission and/or FINRA does not want all these small broker-dealers” around to regulate. “It’s very difficult to be a small BD” considering the amount of supervision required, especially when it comes to “monitoring reps who are not part of your office.” However, he still believes that “the smaller broker-dealer and the independent BDs will be around for a long time to come,” and that being an advisor is “still the greatest business in the world; you actually help people.” As for the onerous regulations faced by both BDs and RIAs, he philosophically noted that “there will always be individuals and entities engaging in corrupt practices; the ability of regulators to address them is minimal.” While over-regulation springing from “catastrophic events” like the Bernie Madoff scandal is a “natural reaction,” the problem is that “they punish the law abiders and don’t prevent another catastrophic event.”

(Check out Investment Advisor's full IA 25 for 2014 list on ThinkAdvisor.)

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

TDFs Most Popular Among Women, Young Investors

Target-date funds are proving most popular among women and younger retirement investors, according to MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division.

In the first quarter of this year, 28.4% of women’s retirement savings were in asset allocation accounts, compared with 27.7% of men’s retirement savings, MassMutual data showed.

Those allocations have jumped by 42% for women over the past five years, and increased 38% for men.

In addition, the data found that millennials, those between the ages of 20 and 37, are moving into target-date funds and other asset allocation strategies more than Generation Xers, those ages 36 to 48, baby boomers, those ages 49 to 68, or members of the Silent Generation, those ages 69 and older.

In the first quarter of 2014, 52.1% of the retirement savings for millennials were in asset allocation accounts, up 3.3% from the same period last year.

“We attribute the growth in popularity to more employers offering target-date funds to meet a growing demand,” said Elaine Sarsynski, executive vice president of MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division.

“American workers are opting for retirement savings strategies that are simpler to understand, easier to manage, and reflect their changing needs as they approach retirement.”

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015

Indeed, investments in asset allocation accounts have soared by 39% since 2009, according to Sarsynski.

---

Check out As Clients Age, Stock Up on Stocks: Kitces on ThinkAdvisor.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Modi Victory Could Reinvigorate India

India's elections are finally over after four weeks of voting, and the man everyone expected to become the next Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will undoubtedly be chosen by the newly elected BJP party to lead them forward. Everyone in the market predicted a Modi victory. No one predicted a Modi landslide. BJP and its political allies have nearly full control of Parliament. Modi has himself a mandate.

The market reacted Friday by pushing up Indian stocks, with the hotly traded Wisdom Tree India Earnings (EPI) exchange traded fund up more than 5% in intraday trade.

If the consumer is the story in China and Brazil, infrastructure is the story in India. And Narendra Modi, or NaMo as he is now popularly known, is the man to deliver the goods in what is still an extremely poor country.

Narendra Modi in Varanasi India, an ancient Hindu city along the Ganges River. Modi clobbered the rival Indian National Congress in this year's election to become the new Prime Minister. Markets are as pleased with the outcome as the majority of Indian voters. (Campaign file photo.)

Per capita income in India is under $2,000 a year, three times less than development crazy China.

Last week there was a risk that results would disappoint and that the optimism of recent months would sour. That would depend on the ruling Indian National Congress, led by Sonia Gandhi, to maintain some of its seats in Parliament. Instead, Gandhi's party and her coalition were nothing short of crushed. Friday's final body count surprised to the upside in favor of market favorite Modi, giving investors a reason to be more bullish.

"The inbox for the new government is a busy one," says Craig Botham, an emerging markets economist for Schroders, a U.K. investment firm.

"There is an investment bottleneck to clear, fiscal consolidation will be important, and central bank governor Raghuram Rajan is keen to move to inflation targeting. Over the longer term, inefficiencies in the land and labor markets must be addressed, and the tricky issue of foreign investment resolved," Botham says. "A majority for the BJP greatly reduces the need for compromise and could mean that we see reforms pushed through relatively quickly."

India has nearly a dozen political parties, so the need to form coalitions is imperative in forming a government. The problem is that those parties do not always see eye-to-eye, often leading to policy paralysis. But this time, Indian voters gave carte blanche to Modi, at least in the lower house of Parliament.

The BJP-led government will still have to negotiate with state governments and the upper house, but Indians by and large are unlikely to tolerate gridlock. Some state governments aligned with the Indian National Congress could prove particularly obstructive. Although Modi is a Hindu nationalist, he never made religion in an issue, or tried to drive a wedge between Muslim and non-Muslims states in India. Botham says the result is a positive one for the Indian economy.

"People have given Modi a lot of front-end expectations," says Joel Wells, a fund manager at Alpine Woods Capital in New York. "The degree and efficacy of reform will depend on what kind of mandate he has. And now that the market knows what kind of mandate he has, it will act accordingly."

Indeed it has. The Sensex rose to a 52 week high of 25,375 at the opening, nearly 2,000 points above Thursday's close. On Wall Street, the iShares S&P India Nifty 50 (INDY) ETF was up by 4.5% with two hours to go in the trading session on Friday.

For the first-time since 1989, a single party will be in control of India's government. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party — better known by its acronym BJP — has over 300 seats of the 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. It only needed 273 to form a new government without having to beg other parties for support. As a result, Modi will clearly be chosen as Prime Minister by BJP. That will be made official on June 1.

Overlooked in the political upheaval is the fact that the Ghandi-controlled Indian National Congress Party mustered less than 59 seats. They used to have over 200. Gandhi's son, Rahul, was to become next Prime Minister if Congress managed an upset. On the ground in India, it appeared Rahul had other things on his mind other than campaigning. This election year was nearly all about Modi. To use a boxing match metaphor, Rahul had no chance to go two rounds with golden gloved Modi.

Why Tesla Motors Inc. Doesn't Have to Worry About Competition... Yet

There has been a lot of fuss raised about the impending competition Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA ) is going to face in the coming years. It's inevitable that the behemoth automakers of the world are going to enter the luxury electric-car market at some point, but I wouldn't write Tesla off just yet.

Introduction of electric cars
When electric cars were first introduced, they were expensive, unimpressive under the hood, and had low travel ranges.

That all changed when Tesla introduced the Model S, which went on to receive the highest score for a vehicle ever from Consumer Reports. It also received the highest score possible by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for safety, scoring a maximum five out of five in each safety and crash category.

But enough of that. We've already heard this news, what about the competition? It all boils down to one simple concept for consumers: price.

Specifically, there have been several big-name, luxury automakers entering the electric sports car market. General Motors' (NYSE: GM ) Cadillac has introduced the ELR vehicle, while BMW (NASDAQOTH: BAMXF ) has developed the i8.

Below are the three vehicles, along with the starting price for each:

Vehicle	Staring Price
BMW i8	$136,625
Cadillac ELR	$75,000
Tesla Model S	$69,900
Tesla Model S Max	$122,720

Source: Edmunds.com, Cadillac.com, and Teslamotors.com

You'll notice that the last vehicle on the list is the Tesla Model S Max. When you go to the company's website and design your own car, you have the option, "Max out my Model S." The resulting car has carbon fiber, more horsepower, longer range, and everything in between -- interior and exterior.

While the ELR hasn't received much "Tesla-killer" coverage, many of the Tesla doubters are touting the BMW i8 as the car that could deal a blow to Model S sales. I can't possibly fathom how that's possible, but have been reading about it more and more often, most recently in a Barron's pieced called, "Tesla Motors: Time to Worry About BMW."

Tesla Model S versus BMW i8
Let's first consider the price right off the bat. For nearly 50% less -- a savings of nearly $67,000 -- consumers can buy the fully electric Model S, the highest rated vehicle ever.

Even the maxed out version of the Model S is $14,000 cheaper than the standard BMW i8!

Below is a table comparing the two models. Since the BMW i8 is an hybrid vehicle (meaning it runs on both battery power and fuel), I have included the electric only stats, listed in the table as "BMW i8 (e)", as well as the standard BMW i8.

Specs	BMW i8 (e)	BMW i8	Tesla Model S Max
Horsepower	131	362	416
0-60 mph	*	4.4 seconds	4.2 seconds
Range (miles)	23	372	265
Top speed (mph)	74.5	155	130

*The BMW i8 (e) 0-60 mph stat is only given as 0-60 kilometers per hour. It equates to 0-37.3 mph in 4.5 seconds. Source: TeslaMotors.com, GreenCarCongress.com, and BMW.com

Remember, this is the starting level BMW i8 and the maxed out Tesla Model S, the latter of which is still $14,000 cheaper. On a purely electric-car versus electric-car basis, the Model S toys with the i8 the way a cat toys with a captured mouse before its inevitable death.

It's not until you measure the Model S against the i8's full capabilities that the race even comes close. While the Model S trumps the i8 in horsepower and acceleration, it can't beat its German counterpart in top speed or total range.

Looking at the choices through a buyer's eyes
When buyers are looking at the Tesla Model S, they see a well-groomed sports car -- fast, tight handling, quick acceleration -- all without the fuel. There is zero gas. None. Zilch.

For all intents and purposes, why pay nearly twice as much for the BMW i8 when you would still need to fuel it, and its performance is roughly equivalent to that of a Model S?

It makes no sense. If one can afford to shell out $136,000 for a new car, why not pass up the hybrid i8 and buy something like a Porsche 911 or an Audi R8, both of which have similar or better specifications with a lower price tag -- starting at $84,300 and $114,900, respectively.

Either the buyer cares about fuel efficiency or they don't. That is to say, either they want zero fuel responsibilities, which they get with the Model S, or they are willing to go to the gas station. If the latter of the two scenarios is true, and unless you absolutely love the BMW i8, buying an Audi, Porsche, or other luxury ride makes more sense for the money.

Final thoughts
While I applaud BMW's efforts in its i8 design -- which is admittedly, beautiful -- the price doesn't make sense given what consumers can buy for either a fully electric sports car or a standard sports car.

With a starting price of $136,000, the BMW i8 is simply too expensive and lacks too many of the benefits you get with a Tesla Model S.

Even if it didn't cost nearly twice as much as the standard Model S, the i8's performance isn't head-and-shoulders above it. It would need to be much, much better than the Model S to justify a price tag of that magnitude.

On-par performance coupled with a staggeringly higher price tag for the BMW i8 leaves the Model S without a main competitor, for now.

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Saturday, May 17, 2014

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now

Any move into alternative investments should start with an allocation of at least 5%, but in order to have any kind of real impact, that allocation should grow to at least 20%, according to Nadia Papagiannis, director of alternative fund research at Morningstar Inc.

“Five percent is really not going to make a difference, but 20% will start to make a difference,” Ms. Papagiannis said as part of her presentation Monday at the InvestmentNews Alternative Investments Conference in Chicago.

As part of a pre-conference presentation designed to provide a lay of the land with regard to alternative investments, she told the audience of financial professionals to be diligent and to diversify into alternative strategies.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Elecsys Corporation(ESYS)

Elecsys Corporation provides data acquisition systems, machine to machine (M2M) communication technology solutions, and custom electronic equipment for critical industrial applications in the United States and internationally. The company designs and manufactures wireless remote monitoring and telemetry solutions to the energy infrastructure sector, as well as other industrial markets under the Pipeline Watchdog and NTG brand names. It also provides process monitoring, data communication, and cyber security solutions under the SensorCast, Director, and zONeGUARD brand names; smart asset tagging solutions based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, which include custom tags, readers, and software under the brand name of eXtremeTAG; custom electronic design and manufacturing services (EDMS) under the DCI brand name; and ultra-rugged handheld computing solutions, as well as handheld computers, printers, peripherals, and application software under the brand na me of Radix. In addition, the company designs, manufactures, and tests a range of electronic assemblies, including circuit boards, high-frequency electronic modules, microelectronic assemblies, and turn-key products; and provides liquid crystal displays (LCDs) devices and modules, and hardware and software design services to its original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) partners, as well as offers integrated data collection and reporting solutions. It primarily serves energy infrastructure, safety and security systems, industrial controls, irrigation and water management, transportation, military, and aerospace markets. Elecsys Corporation was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Olathe, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Udovich]
Small cap machine-to-machine (M2M) stock Elecsys Corp (NASDAQ: ESYS) jumped 8.99% yesterday and is up 254% over the past year, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock and its performance verses other small cap M2M stocks like Digi International Inc (NASDAQ: DGII), Numerex Corp (NASDAQ: NMRX) and Sierra Wireless, Inc (NASDAQ: SWIR). First of all though, I should mention that machine-to-machine (M2M) broadly refers to technologies that allow both wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the same type and this can be through any type of technology ranging from instruments to networks to applications that create connections between devices.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Diamondcorp PLC (DCP)

DiamondCorp plc is a United Kingdom-based diamond producer. The Company�� 74%-owned Lace diamond mine is located 200 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg in the Free State Province of South Africa. The project comprises the Lace kimberlite. Approximately 33 million tons of kimberlite have been outlined in the main Lace pipe between the 240 meter and the 855 meter level, containing an estimated 13.3 million carats of diamonds at an average estimated grade of 40 carats per hundred tons (cpht). Its subsidiaries include Diamondcorp Holdings Limited, Botswana Diamondcorp Limited, Lace Diamond Mine (Pty) Limited, which is engaged in diamond exploration, Soapstone Investments (Pty) Limited and DCP Exploration (Pty) Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Aimee Duffy]
Winners
Given the current state of U.S. energy production, most midstream companies are winners these days. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP ) got things started off on the right foot, reporting in mid-April and beating expectations on revenue and EPS. Here are some highlights from around the industry:
Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL ) �trounced analyst expectations on the top and bottom lines, and recorded a distribution coverage ratio of 1.21 times payouts, allowing the partnership to boost its distribution. DCP Midstream Partners' (NYSE: DCP ) �distributable cash flow popped 40% year over year, and the partnership completed its Eagle Ford dropdown transaction with parent company DCP Midstream, boosting its stake in the lucrative South Texas shale play. Boardwalk Energy Partners' (NYSE: BWP ) �operating revenue and net income increased 5% and 10% year over year. More importantly, distributable cash flow popped 24%, though the partnership elected to hold the distribution flat quarter over quarter. Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP ) �had no distribution increase either, but things are looking better than they have in a while. Production in the Eagle Ford Shale is driving growth at ETP, and the partnership is reorganizing into an operation that is stronger and more diverse than ever before.
Very strong results here, now let's take a look at some midstream companies that didn't perform as well.
[By Tyler Crowe]
Perhaps bigger players like Occidental were able to hog the limited takeaway capacity, but this won't be a good reason for slowed production very soon. Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP ) and DCP Midstream (NYSE: DCP ) both have pipelines coming on line within the next couple of months that will have takeaway capacity of 225,000 and 350,000 barrels per day, respectively. Once these pipelines come on line, there should be much more room for LINN's production.�

10 Best Internet Stocks To Own Right Now: A-Cap Resources Ltd (ACB)

A-Cap Resources Limited is an Australia-based mineral exploration company. The Company�� principal activity during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), is exploration of its tenement portfolio in Botswana and the ongoing feasibility studies into the Letlhakane Uranium Project. The Company focuses on investment in Botswana in Southern Africa, where it holds over 5000 square kilometer of exploration licenses. The Company�� projects include Botswana project, Letlhakane project, Mea-Coal project, Bolau-Coal project and Southern Pans project. The Company�� 100% owned Letlhakane Uranium Project is located in northeast Botswana. In July 2012, A-Cap announced the discovery of two new coal projects in Botswana, transforming the Company into a multi-commodity exploration outfit. Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Heinzl]
You'll notice that these numbers don't add up to $1.4988. That's because the 2012 distribution also contained a hefty chunk of return of capital (70.489 cents). ROC isn't taxable immediately; rather, it is subtracted from the adjusted cost base (ACB) of the units, which gives rise to a larger capital gain, or smaller capital loss, when the units are ultimately sold. Many REITs and mutual funds also distribute ROC. ROC can be a bit of a headache for investors. If you hold BIP in a non-registered account, you (or your accountant), will need to track those ROC payments in order to keep your ACB up to date. Knowing the ACB is necessary to calculate your capital gain, or loss, when it comes time to sell.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp (MTGE)

American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp., incorporated on March 15, 2011, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company�� investment objective is to provide risk-adjusted returns to its investors over the long-term through a combination of dividends and capital appreciation. It invests to achieve this objective by selectively constructing and managing a mortgage investment portfolio consisting of asset classes that, when properly financed and hedged, are designed to produce risk adjusted returns across a variety of market conditions and economic cycles. In December 2013, American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp, through its subsidiary acquired Residential Credit Solutions, Inc.

The Company is externally managed and advised by American Capital MTGE Management, LLC. American Capital MTGE Management, LLC is an indirect subsidiary of American Capital, LLC, which is a wholly portfolio company of American Capital, Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Amanda Alix]
As for American Capital Agency, CIO Gary Kain seems adamant that the trust will stay true to its agency roots, noting at a recent presentation that investors who like a little more diversity can invest in American Capital Mortgage (NASDAQ: MTGE ) , the hybrid cousin of the agency mREIT.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Cheniere Energy Inc.(LNG)

Cheniere Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership and operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals and natural gas pipelines in the Gulf Coast of the United States. The company develops LNG receiving terminal projects on Sabine Pass LNG in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana on the Sabine Pass Channel; Corpus Christi LNG near Corpus Christi, Texas; and Creole Trail LNG at the mouth of the Calcasieu Channel in central Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It also involves in the oil and natural gas exploration and development activities; and LNG and natural gas marketing business. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]
The exportation of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, has been a hotly debated topic in the United States recently. Companies from all types of backgrounds have been staking their claims on either side of the argument. One thing is for certain, and that is that in 2015 Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG ) will begin exporting liquefied natural gas from its Department of Energy-approved Sabine Pass facility.��
[By Tyler Crowe]
The large uptick in domestic production will have some major implications on natural gas markets. With ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP ) just receiving approval for LNG exports to countries not in free trade agreements with the U.S. at its Freeport facility, and Cheniere Energy's (NYSEMKT: LNG ) facility due to come on line in 2015, the U.S. natural gas market will have something it doesn't have right now: an outlet for excess supply. U.S. LNG exports, plus all the Canadian gas we are using today, could be an opportunity for European countries to diversify its natural gas sources and in turn reduce the risk of repeating an incident like the U.K. suffered back in March.
[By The Energy Report]
TER: Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) has commercial contracts for five of its six planned liquefied natural gas [LNG] trains. What are the prospects for more companies to build LNG plants?
[By Tyler Crowe]
Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG ) : There are some certainties that make Cheniere Energy an attractive company. It has a major leg-up in the U.S. liquefied natural gas export market with the first facility slated to come online in 2015. It also has started up the construction of a second facility in Corpus Christi evident in the recent $9.5 billion deal with construction company Bechtel. This second facility is slated to come online in 2018. Add these things together and you get a company that will have a strong cash-generating machine that will fuel its strong dividend yield once Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSEMKT: CQP ) starts to generate surplus operational cash.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Ark Restaurants Corp. (ARKR)

Ark Restaurants Corp., through its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership and operation of restaurants and bars, fast food concepts, and catering operations. As of October 2, 2010, it owned and operated 22 restaurants and bars, including 9 facilities located in New York City; 4 in Washington, D.C.; 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada; 2 in Atlantic City, New Jersey; 1 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut; and 1 in the Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as had 29 fast food concepts and catering operations. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Geoff Gannon] ght them - and even now - I think their return on buyback would be high and I'd be in favor of it. However, the stocks are illiquid and their free cash flow relative to the dollar value of freely traded shares is not high. As a result, I'm always in favor of RSKIA and ARKR buying back stock. But, I understand it's very hard for them to do in practice unless there is a meaningful holder who signals he wants out of the stock.
My approach to buybacks is pretty simple. One, I prefer them. Two, I look at the share count history over the last 10 to 20 years as my guide to what the company might do in the future - I want a pattern of predictable behavior. Generally, that means a continuously shrinking share count that shrinks in bull markets and bear markets, panics and recessions and booms and busts and so on. Three, if I'm a buyer of the stock - then the company should be a buyer of its own stock. No questions asked on that one. If the stock is good enough for me to buy it's clearly good enough for the company to buy. Finally, I look for the return on buyback. I tend to focus on the earning power the company is buying relative to the net cash it is spending. If a company has cash on its balance sheet, the amount of net cash consumed by a buyback will be less than it appears because I will end up with a greater percentage ownership of the resulting balance sheet as well as the income statement.
I want the return on buyback to always be at least 10%. As a rule, the average company will only get returns on its buybacks of 10% or higher if it pays less than 15 times normal earnings. In special cases - fast growing companies, companies where free cash flow vastly exceeds reported income, etc. - it is possible that buybacks above 15 times earnings will return more than 10%. It almost never makes sense for a company to buy back stock at over 25 times earnings. So, for most companies, under 15 times earnings is the green zone for buybacks - 15 to 25 times earnings is
[By Bram de Haas]
Ark Restaurants Corp (ARKR) owns and operates 19 restaurants and bars, 22 fast food concepts and catering operations in the USA. This is a short article outlining why they are an interesting company to put on the buy list. It needs to be said, this is not a chain that can roll out their concept or brand nationwide and enjoy terrific growth of their franchise. They chose not to build up brands and instead operate under trade names that suit the unique locations they prefer. The reason that I want to highlight this small company is that in recent years they have faced numerous challenges and adversity (aside from those posed by the general economy) and it's possible they have dealt with the majority, and free cash flow will enjoy a significant uptick in the next two years.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Endeavour International Corp (END)

Endeavour International Corporation (Endeavour), incorporated on January 13, 2000, is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and acquisition of energy reserves in the United States and United Kingdom. The Company has three producing fields in the United Kingdom, including Alba, Bacchus and Bittern, as well as a number of development projects including Rochelle and Columbus. In the United States, the Company has production in the Haynesville and Marcellus, as well as two oil frontier plays in Colorado and Montana. As of December 31, 2012, Endeavour had proved reserves of 71,591 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas and 13,739 thousands of barrels (Mbbls) of crude oil for a combined 25.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (MBOE).

The North Sea is a resource area where it has a development project, producing properties and additional exploration licenses. During 2012, Alba production volumes were impacted by water handling issues. As of December 31, 2012, it held a 30% working interest in its Bacchus field asset, which is operated by Apache Corporation, who owns a 50% working interest. In April and July 2012, it achieved production from the first and second development wells, respectively, on the Bacchus field. The Company�� working interest in the Rochelle area is 44% and it is the operator of the field, which is comprised of Blocks 15/26b, 15/26c and 15/27. Its United States activity has targeted reserve and production growth in shale gas plays, including the Louisiana Haynesville and Pennsylvania Marcellus areas.

The Company is also targeting emerging oil-prone and liquids-rich plays, including the Montana Heath oil play and its new interests in the Colorado Niobrara area. The Company operates and controls the Marcellus assets while retaining a 50% position in its remaining producing Haynesville acreage. The Company has 19 Haynesville Units which held by production with an estimated over 80 remaining gross locations to be developed, dep! ending on development well spacing. The Company has interests in approximately 88,900 net acres in the emerging Heath Shale oil play in Montana, primarily in Rosebud and Garfield Counties.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
Last February independent oil & gas company Endeavour International Corp. (NYSE: END) initiated a strategic review to help it ��urther enhance shareholder value.��The company needed the help. Its size works against it. At the time of its announcement, the company�� market cap was just around $225 million.
[By Paul Ausick]
Stocks on the Move: Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is up 9.1% at $9.38 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.63 earlier today. Endeavour International Corp. (NYSE: END) is down 14.3% at $6.05 after failing to get any appreciable results from its strategic review. E-commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is down 13.4% at $10.05 after issuing a warning on third-quarter earnings.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Altra Holdings Inc.(AIMC)

Altra Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Altra Industrial Motion, Inc., designs, produces, and markets a range of mechanical power transmission and motion control products worldwide. The company provides industrial clutches and brakes for elevators, forklifts, lawn mowers, oil well draw works, punch presses, and conveyors; open and enclosed gearing products for conveyors, ethanol mixers, packaging machinery, and metal processing equipment; and engineered couplings for extruders, turbines, steel strip mills, and pumps. It also offers engineered bearing assemblies for cargo rollers, seat storage systems, and conveyors; power transmission components for conveyors, lawn mowers, and machine tools; and engineered belted drives for pumps, sand and gravel conveyors, and industrial fans. The company sells its products under the Warner Electric, Boston Gear, TB Wood?s, Kilian, Nuttall Gear, Ameridrives, Wichita Clutch, Formsprag Clutch, Bibby Transmissions, Stieber, Matrix, In ertia Dynamics, Twiflex, Industrial Clutch, Huco Dynatork, Marland Clutch, Delroyd, Warner Linear, and Bauer Gear Motor brands through its sales force, industrial distributors, and independent sales representatives. It serves aerospace, energy, food processing, general industrial, material handling, mining, petrochemical, transportation, and turf and garden markets. The company is headquartered in Braintree, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Seth Jayson]
When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Altra Holdings (Nasdaq: AIMC ) .

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Bacterin International Holdings Inc (BONE)

Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. (Bacterin), formerly K-Kitz, Inc., develops, manufactures and markets biologics products to domestic and international markets through Bacterin's biologics division. Its products are used in a variety of applications, including enhancing fusion in spine surgery, relief of back pain with a facet joint stabilization, promotion of bone growth in foot and ankle surgery, promotion of skull healing following neurosurgery and subcondral bone defect repair in knee and other joint surgeries. The Company has developed and manufacture and sell several human tissue-based products, primarily allografts, into the medical marketplace through its biologics division. In addition, it also manufactures and sells, directly under its own name and indirectly through distributors, various coating and surgical drain products through its medical devices division.

The Company�� medical devices division develops medical devices intended for use in several diverse clinical areas, including orthopedic, plastic, and cardiovascular surgery. The medical devices division also develops custom surgical instrument kits for use with allografts processed by its biologics division. The medical devices division actively develops intellectual property associated with its devices and coating platforms, for the purposes of protecting its Bacterin-branded devices and for use in alliance projects. The manufacturing and operations of the biologics and medical devices divisions are organized separately while products from both are marketed through several channels, including independent distributors, joint development projects and its direct sales network.

Biologics Division

The Company�� biologics products include OsteoSponge, OsteoSponge SC, OsteoWrap, OsteoLock and BacFast, as well as certain other allograft products, such as OsteoSponge, OsteoWrap, OsteoLock and BacFast and hMatrix. OsteoSponge is a form of demineralized bone matrix made from 100% human bone. Ost! eoSponge provides a natural scaffold for cellular in-growth and exposes bone-forming proteins to the healing environment. The malleable properties of OsteoSponge enable it to conform to, and fill, defects. Upon compressing the allograft, OsteoSponge springs back to completely fill the void. Its mechanical and biological properties make OsteoSponge an bone graft for use in various orthopedic practices, including spine, neurology, cranial/maxillofacial, trauma, plastic/reconstruction and general procedures where new bone growth is needed.

OsteoSponge SC is a form of OsteoSponge designed to be used in joint surgery. Bacterin has shown, in goat studies, the ability to re-generate cartilage in joint repair and believes that this product has the potential to significantly change the standard of care in human joint surgery. OsteoWrap is 100% human cortical bone demineralized through a process to make the graft flexible while maintaining allograft integrity. This product has various applications in orthopedic, neurological, trauma, oral/maxillofacial and reconstructive procedures. OsteoWrap can wrap around non-union fractures to assist with fusion, can act as a biologic plate or can be used in conjunction with a hardware plate system. Additionally, this product provides the surgeon with superior handling characteristics as the allograft can be easily sized using surgical scissors or a scalpel, and will withhold sutures or staples for fixation.

OsteoLock and BacFast are dowels made from human bone. BacFast HD, having the same design as OsteoLock, is optimized through its demineralization technology. OsteoLock and BacFast can be used to augment spinal procedures for mild spinal conditions. hMatrix dermal scaffold is an extension of Bacterin's core biologics technology and its third human acellular biological scaffold. hMatrix is an acellular matrix made from donated human dermal tissue that is used to replace a patient's damaged tissue. hMatrix provides a natural collagen tissue scaffold! that pro! motes cellular ingrowth, tissue vascularization and regeneration. The Company makes and sells sports allografts which are processed specifically for anterior and posterior cruciate ligament repairs, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and meniscal repair; milled allografts, which are consists of cortical bone milled to desired shapes and dimensions, also called milled spinal allografts, and traditional allografts for multi-disciplinary applications, including orthopedics, neurology, podiatry, oral/maxillofacial, genitourinary and plastic/reconstructive.

Medical Device Products

The Company�� medical devices division researches, tests and develops coatings for medical devices, particularly antimicrobial-based coatings. This division produces and distributes OsteoSelect DBM putty, an osteoinductive product used by surgeons as bone void filler in the extremities and pelvis. OsteoSelect DBM putty is engineered with the surgeon in mind. OsteoSelect can be molded into any shape and compressed into bony voids. Its medical devices division also develops custom surgical instrument kits for use with allografts processed by its biologics division. The Company sells a surgical drain series called ViaTM, which is used to drain exudate from a surgical site. Building upon the ViaTM platform, Bacterin plans on releasing a second generation product called the Elutia surgical drains, which will be performance enhanced through an antimicrobial coating to help reduce the incidence of surgical site infection.

The Company competes with Medtronic, DePuy, Synthes, Arthrex, Smith & Nephew, Nuvasive, OrthoFix, Biomet, Osteotech, Orthovita, MTF, Stryker, RTI, AlloSource, Lifenet Health, Integra, ConMed/Linvatec, Wright, Exactech, ArthroCare, Harvest and Arteriocyte.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Bryan Murphy]
It may not be as big as NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVA), and it might not be as sexy as MiMedx Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MDXG). But, Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:BONE) offers something to investors that MDXG and NUVA don't - can't - right now... a distinct opportunity for a lot of upside in a short amount of time.
[By James E. Brumley]
Traders may not want to get married for the long haul to any of them, but for speculators looking for a quick, profitable hit, Arca Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ABIO), Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI), and Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:BONE) may be better-than-average bets. Here's why.

Hot Prefered Companies To Invest In Right Now: Endocan Corp (ENDO)

Endocan Corp, formerly The X-Change Corporation, incorporated on October 4, 2000, offers nutraceuticals and cosmetics in the United States. The Company provides lip balms, eczema moisturizing cream, sunscreen, and anti-ageing serum under the Phytiva brand name. The Company specializes in developing all natural, organic, bio hemp health, beauty, and cosmetics products.

The Phytiva serum uses only natural ingredients, including, but not limited to, hemp oil extract. The Company specializes in Cannabinoid-based extracts and products that target medical cannabis, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, and social usage solutions through multiple Phytiva Brand product lines, products, and services.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Peter Graham]
Next Generation Energy Corp (OTCMKTS: NGMC) and Dutch Gold Resources, Inc (OTCMKTS: DGRI) are the latest small cap stocks to announce their entry into the marijuana business while peer Endocan Corp (OTCMKTS: ENDO) sees some paid promotions or investor relations activities, but otherwise remains quiet. So will investors and traders alike achieve a high with any of these small cap marijuana stocks? Here is a quick reality check:

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Don't Be Afraid to Buy Bank of America

The news last month was that estimates for the big banks were taken down from several analysts across the board, mostly on fears of trading revenue slowdowns, lofty guidance and questionable expenses. Important highlights of the news:

Atlantic Equities' Richard Staite cuts his Q1 EPS estimate for Citigroup (C +1.9%) to $1.14 from $1.40 and his full-year estimate to $4.59 from $4.96, while expressing doubt about the bank's ability to hit its 2015 ROE target of 15%. He continues to have a Hold rating on the name, with a $55 price target The move comes after CFO John Gerspach — speaking at an institutional investor conference on Monday — said markets' revenues this quarter were off by a high mid-teens percentage, investment banking revenue was tracking lower and expenses headed higher. Credit Suisse's Moshe Orenbuch cut his Q1 forecast to $1.21 from $1.41 and fiscal 2014 to $5 from $5.25. He still rates the stock an Outperform, with a $65 price target. JPMorgan (JPM +0.9%) — at its investor day last week — was the first of the big banks to signal the greater-than-expected trading revenue slowdown, and KBW's Chris Mutascio lowered his Q1 EPS estimate to $1.38 from $1.43 and fiscal 2014 to $5.90 from $5.95. He's got an Outperform and a $63 price target on the shares. Bank of America (BAC +1.8%) swims in the same waters, and Orenbuch lowered his Q1 numbers to $0.19 from $0.24 and fiscal 2014 to $1.30 from $1.35.

Interestingly enough, this comes on a day where Bank of America is showing one of its strongest days in a while, up 2.8% midway through the trading day on Wednesday. By 10:45 CST, the bank had already traded more than its 100-day volume, so it's been a healthy bullish sentiment behind the bank today.

However, we've seen the bank slow down its epic 2013 run this year.

From a technical perspective, traders are going to be looking at the resistance around $17.20 to $17.25. If the stock can confidently break through this level, which would represent about a 3.1% trading gain on Wednesday, it'll be considered one of the more bullish signs for the bank, which has been bouncing between $16 and $17 in 2014 thus far.

While it certainly doesn't appear that people are letting this news move them out of the stock — again, BAC is trading up nearly 3%, while the DJIA is off 34 points — here's three more reasons I think Bank of America remains a "buy", in the midst of that analysis.

1. Cost-Cutting

One of the main points of the analyst estimate cuts is that revenues are pulling back and costs are going up. While that may remain a risk with other banks, CEO Brian Moynihan has proved that he has a firm grasp on expenses, cutting where he can to steady the bank's bottom line. Revenue hasn't been the catalyst for the bank — it's been all about net income growth through cost reduction. Moynihan's track record so far is impeccable.

2. The Dividends are Coming

There were a couple of stocks that I predicted would institute dividends this year. Ford (F), GM (GM), and Bank of America, namely. The bank remains the only name on this list that is not yielding well through a dividend, but I'm expecting that to change after the non-event that will be the bank's coming stress test.

3. Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)

I'm not a "ride the coattails" of Buffett trader, but when Warren shows serious confidence in a name that I'm long, it's a little nudge of good news. Buffett has recently re-upped his stake in Bank of America for another five years — if he's happy with what he sees, I am too. I think Buffett has the right idea here, and it's generally not a bad thing to be on the same side of the trade as him.

While risk certainly does remain with the bank with regard to its litigation costs rising, these are one-time problems that have a very small chance of having a massive long-term effect on the bank — which continues to get bigger and stronger every quarter.

Moynihan has shown that slowly and steadily, he's knocking out the legacy issues related to the housing crisis. When the bank gets over its coming major hurdles, it's going to be smooth sailing, and I expect the bank's multiple to increase commensurate with a company that just wiped a lot of risk off the table.

My price target on Bank of America is $25, long term.

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