Best Financial Companies To Own For 2014

Ameriprise Financial Fined, Censured for Prospectus Delivery Failures

FINRA censured Ameriprise Financial and fined the firm $525,000 after it determined that Ameriprise failed to satisfy the requirement that it deliver prospectuses to mutual fund customers within three days of a purchase transaction. The firm neither admitted nor denied the findings but consented to the sanctions.

Ameriprise used third-party providers to deliver prospectuses for the mutual funds it sold. While it provided electronic information to the firms that were contracted to furnish the prospectuses, it did not check that they did so and had no processes or procedures in place to do so on a daily or weekly basis.

Ameriprise did have a requirement for a monthly review of a sample of transactions, but the requirement failed to describe specifically what the reviewer was required to look for, or which actions the reviewer must take if deficiencies in prospectus delivery were found.

While the main reason for the delivery failures was found to be a failure on the part of the mutual fund companies to have on hand adequate paper copies of their prospectuses, which meant that when the third-party providers requested copies there were none to be had to meet the three-day deadline.

Top 5 Small Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Lincoln National Corporation (LNC)

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. The company operates in Annuities, Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection segments. It sells a range of wealth protection, accumulation, and retirement income products and solutions. These products include fixed and indexed annuities, variable annuities, universal life insurance (UL), variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL, term life insurance, employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plans, mutual funds and group life, disability, and dental products. The company also provides employer-sponsored fixed and variable annuities, and mutual fund-based programs; single and survivorship versions of UL and VUL, including corporate-owned UL and VUL, and bank-owned UL and VUL products to small- to mid-sized banks, and mid- to large-sized corporations; and group non-medical insurance products, prin cipally term life, universal life, disability, dental, vision, accident, and critical illness insurance to the employer market place through various forms of contributory and non-contributory plans. Lincoln National Corporation distributes its products through consultants, brokers, planners, agents, financial advisors, third-party administrators, and other intermediaries. Lincoln National Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Lincoln National (LNC) is a financial stock that's forming a channel of its own... But with a twist.

  That's because the $12 billion wealth management firm is moving sideways in a range-bound trade called a rectangle. The setup gets its name because price action is essentially "boxed-in" by resistance above shares at $45, and support to the downside at $42. Instead of buying within the channel, rectangles are breakout trades – you want to trade this name when it breaks outside of the box.

  That means that a move through the $45 level is a buy signal, and a move through support at $42 is an indicator that it's time to sell (or short) LNC. Right now, there's some extra bias to the upside – typically, rectangles are continuation patterns, and since Lincoln's preceding price action was up, it's likely next move is up as well. Still, it doesn't become a high probability trade until the breakout happens, so wait to get your direction from the market.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Finally, shares of life insurance company Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC  ) added 5.7% on the day despite no company-specific news. Today's move higher could very well just be carryover from its third-quarter results reported a little more than a week ago where it handily topped the consensus EPS and revenue forecast of analysts. Annuities and retirement planning services have been a big boost to the sector over the past couple of quarters, and a rising market is surely going to encourage investors, young and old, to consider jumping back in and investing for their futures.

• [By Andrew Bary]

  Life stocks are up more than 2% on average, making them one of the strongest groups in the S&P 500 today. The Protective Life deal highlights the discounted valuation in the sector, where leading stocks have some of the lowest valuations in the S&P 500. MetLife (MET) is up 3% to $54.80; Prudential Financial (PRU) has risen 2.8% to $88.44 and Lincoln National (LNC) has gained 2.6% to $51.25.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  It’s been a good day for life insurers across the board today, thanks to speculation that the Fed could get more hawkish following today’s jobs report–and higher interest rates would benefit insurers. Shares of Prudential have gained 2% to $88.47 at 2:53 p.m. today, while Metlife (MET) has risen 1.3% to $53.04 and Lincoln National (LNC) has advanced 1.6% to $52.75. American International Group (AIG) has dropped 0.2% to $51.05.

Best Financial Companies To Own For 2014: Humboldt Capital Corp (HMB)

Humboldt Capital Corporation (Humboldt) is an investment company with its holdings concentrated in the resource sector. The Company�� principal business is to purchase securities for investment income and capital appreciation over the long term. The Company provides early-stage risk capital, business experience and guidance to junior oil and gas enterprises. Humboldt is engaged in making investments in a range of very small to large companies, which are in turn engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of crude oil and natural gas or minerals, or companies, which provides services to such companies. Humboldt also makes investments in other businesses that have potential for growth. Humboldt has investments in western Canadian energy companies, international oil and gas companies and in the mining sector, with particular emphasis on companies exploring or producing commodities. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  EasyJet Plc and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA climbed as oil prices fell after the U.S. and Russia agreed on a plan to destroy Syrian chemical weapons. Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB) advanced to a three-year high after sales topped estimates. Remy Cointreau SA (RCO) soared the most in almost four years as Chinese cognac shipments increased.

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN) lost 3.6 percent after second-quarter profit missed analysts��estimates. Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB) declined the most in seven weeks as Europe�� second-biggest clothing retailer reported worse-than-expected sales. BG Group Plc, which derives 20 percent of its oil-and-gas production from Egypt, slipped 2.4 percent as the death toll from nationwide violence in the most populous Arab country climbed above 500.

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Ladbrokes (LAD) Plc plunged to its lowest price in almost a year after issuing a profit warning for its digital division. Thomas Cook Group Plc slid 6.6 percent after it said winter bookings have slowed. Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB), Europe�� second-biggest clothing retailer, rose to its highest price after posting third-quarter profit that beat analysts��estimates.

Best Financial Companies To Own For 2014: Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU)

Vanguard Utilities ETF is an exchange-traded class of shares issued by Vanguard Utilities Index Fund (the Fund). The Fund employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) United States Investable Market Utilities Index (the Index), an index made up of stocks of large, medium-size and small United States companies in the utilities sector, as classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).

This GICS sector is made up of electric, gas and water utility companies, as well as companies that operate as independent producers and/or distributors of power. The sector includes both nuclear and non-nuclear facilities. The Fund attempts to replicate the target 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 Richard Stavros]

  In early August, Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSE: VPU), iShares US Utilities (NYSE: IDU), and Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF (NYSE: FUTY) added almost $250 million in new assets combined, more than enough to offset outflows from Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NSDQ: XLU).

• [By Bruce Vanderveen]

  Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) is similar to XLU. It has the same top ten holdings, but has a more diverse base, with smaller utilities included.

Best Financial Companies To Own For 2014: Omega Healthcare Investors Inc.(OHI)

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company invests in healthcare facilities, principally long-term healthcare facilities in the United States. It provides lease or mortgage financing to qualified operators of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), as well as to assisted living facilities (ALFs), independent living facilities (ILFs), and rehabilitation and acute care facilities. As of March 31, 2011, the company?s portfolio of real estate investments consisted of 400 healthcare facilities, including 370 SNFs, 10 ALFs, 5 specialty facilities, fixed rate mortgages on 13 SNFs, and 2 SNFs that are held-for-sale located in 35 states. Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. has been qualified as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1992 and is bas ed in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) is a more focused option, getting virtually all of its revenues from skilled nursing an assisted living facilities. It also happens to pay one of the highest dividend yields on offer at 6.4% and has doubled its dividend over the past 7 years.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  For the fourth quarter in a row, Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI  ) has elected to raise its dividend slightly. The company declared a payout of $0.47 per share, to be paid on August 15 to stockholders of record as of July 31.�That amount is $0.01, or 2%, higher than the previous distribution of $0.46 paid in mid-May. That dividend was also a raise of $0.01 from its predecessor, which, in turn, was higher than the previous quarter's disbursement by the same amount.