Top Financial Stocks For 2014

Over the past week Chase Coleman�� fund Tiger Global Management reported an increase in their holdings in the children�� apparel company, Carter��. The fund made this increase on Oct. 24, as the company released their third quarter financial results.

Coleman�� fund upped its stake in Carter�� by 41.33% last week by purchasing a total of 1,653,031 shares of the company�� stock. The fund bought these shares at an average price of $68.28 per share, and since then the price is down slightly to $68.11 per share.

Tiger Global now holds on to 5,653,031 shares of Carter��, representing 9.54% of the company�� shares outstanding. Since the guru bought into Carter�� during the first quarter, the company has seen average gains of 12%. Chase Coleman�� holding history as of the close of the second quarter:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Tiger Global Management is the largest guru shareholder of Carter�� stock.

Hot Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now: BB&T Corp (BBT)

BB&T Corporation (BB&T) is a financial holding company. BB&T conducts its business operations primarily through its commercial bank subsidiary, Branch Banking and Trust Company (Branch Bank), which has offices in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Washington D.C and Indiana. In addition, BB&T�� operations consist of a federally chartered thrift institution, BB&T Financial, FSB (BB&T FSB), and a number of nonbank subsidiaries, which offer financial services products. BB&T�� operations are divided into six business segments: Community Banking, Residential Mortgage Banking, Dealer Financial Services, Specialized Lending, Insurance Services, and Financial Services. Branch Bank provides a range of banking and trust services for retail and commercial clients in its geographic markets, including small and mid-size businesses, public agencies, local Governments and individuals, through 1,779 offices as of December 31, 2011. During the year ended December 31, 2011, BB&T announced the acquisitions of Liberty Benefit Insurance Services, Atlantic Risk Management Corporation and the Precept Group. In April 2012, it acquired the life and property and casualty insurance operating divisions of Roseland, New Jersey - based Crump Group Inc. On July 31, 2012, it acquired BankAtlantic.

As of December 31, 2011, the principal operating subsidiaries of BB&T included Branch Banking and Trust Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; BB&T Financial, FSB, Columbus, Georgia; Scott & Stringfellow, LLC, Richmond, Virginia; Clearview Correspondent Services, LLC, Richmond, Virginia; Regional Acceptance Corporation, Greenville, North Carolina; American Coastal Insurance Company, Davie, Florida, and Sterling Capital Management, LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina. Branch Bank�� principal operating subsidiaries include BB&T Equipment Finance Corporation, BB&T Investment Services, Inc., BB&T Insurance Services, Inc., Stanley, Hunt, DuPree! & Rhine (a division of Branch Bank), Prime Rate Premium Finance Corporation, Inc., Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, LLC, Lendmark Financial Services, Inc., CRC Insurance Services, Inc. and McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc.

Community Banking

BB&T�� Community Banking serves individual and business clients by offering a range of loan and deposit products and other financial services. As of December 31, 2011, Community Banking had a network of 1,779 banking.

Residential Mortgage Banking

Residential Mortgage Banking segment retains and services mortgage loans originated by Community Banking, as well as those purchased from various correspondent originators. Mortgage loan products include fixed and adjustable rate Government and conventional loans for the purpose of constructing, purchasing or refinancing residential properties. Substantially all of the properties are owner occupied. BB&T retains the servicing rights to all loans sold. Residential Mortgage Banking earns interest on loans held in the warehouse and portfolio, fee income from the origination and servicing of mortgage loans and recognizes gains or losses from the sale of mortgage loans. BB&T�� mortgage originations totaled $23.7 billion in 2011. BB&T�� residential mortgage servicing portfolio, which includes both retained loans and loans serviced for third parties, totaled $91.6 billion in 2011.

Dealer Financial Services

Dealer Financial Services originates loans to consumers on a prime and nonprime basis for the purchase of automobiles. Such loans are originated on an indirect basis through approved franchised and independent automobile dealers throughout the BB&T market area and nationally through Regional Acceptance Corporation. This segment also originates loans for the purchase of boats and recreational vehicles originated through dealers in BB&T�� market area. In addition, financing and servicing to dealers for their inventories is provided through a ! joint rel! ationship between Dealer Financial Services and Community Banking.

Specialized Lending

BB&T�� Specialized Lending consists of eight business units that provide specialty finance products to consumers and businesses. The internal business units include Commercial Finance that contains commercial finance and mortgage warehouse lending; and, Governmental Finance that is responsible for tax-exempt Government finance. Operating subsidiaries include BB&T Equipment Finance which provides equipment leasing within BB&T�� banking footprint; Sheffield Financial, a division of FSB Financial, a dealer-based financer of equipment for both small businesses and consumers; Lendmark Financial Services, a direct consumer finance lending company; Prime Rate Premium Finance Corporation, which includes AFCO and CAFO, insurance premium finance business units that provide funding to businesses in the United States and Canada and to consumers in certain markets within BB&T�� banking footprint, and Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a commercial mortgage banking lender providing loans on a national basis.

Insurance Services

BB&T Insurance Services provides property and casualty, life and health insurance to businesses and individuals. It also provides small business and corporate products, such as workers compensation and professional liability, as well as surety coverage and title insurance. In addition, Insurance Services also underwrites a limited amount of property and casualty coverage.

Financial Services

Financial Services provides personal trust administration, estate planning, investment counseling, wealth management, asset management, employee benefits services, corporate banking and corporate trust services to individuals, corporations, institutions, foundations and Government entities. Financial Services also offers clients investment alternatives, including discount brokerage services, equities, fixed-rate and variable-rate annuiti! es, mutua! l funds and governmental and municipal bonds through BB&T Investment Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Branch Bank. Financial Services includes Scott & Stringfellow, LLC, a brokerage and investment banking firm. Scott & Stringfellow provides services in retail brokerage, equity and debt underwriting, investment advice, corporate finance and equity research and facilitates the origination, trading and distribution of fixed-income securities and equity products in both the public and private capital markets. Scott & Stringfellow also has a public finance department that provides investment banking services, financial advisory services and municipal bond financing. Scott & Stringfellow�� investment banking and corporate and public finance areas conduct business as BB&T Capital Markets. This segment includes BB&T Capital Partners that is a group of BB&T-sponsored private equity and mezzanine investment funds that invest in privately owned middle-market operating companies. Financial Services also includes the Corporate Banking Division that originates and services corporate relationships, syndicated lending relationships and client derivatives.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  AlamyCitizens Bank ranks the No. 1 financial institution among baby boomers. Each stage of life brings with it a unique set of challenges to overcome and benchmarks to hit -- and this is especially true when it comes to banking. Although financial institutions target millennials heavily, baby boomers (Americans born between 1946 and 1964) are still the most represented generation among today's banking customers. A December Gallup poll revealed that 89 percent of baby boomers have at least one checking, savings or money market account. With more than 75 million baby boomers in the United States, there's a greater demand for financial institutions that cater to the boomer lifestyle. 3 Things Baby Boomers Need Most From Banks The youngest baby boomers have reached seniority in the labor force, while the oldest members of this generation have entered retirement. Both ends of the spectrum have vastly different circumstances when it comes to income, but no matter their age, boomers have three main banking needs. 1. Customer Service. Customer service comes in many forms, whether from an in-person associate at a brick-and-mortar branch or an attendant at a small kiosk in a local grocery store. Boomers have grown up with institutions that rely on real-life, person-to-person transactions that allow them to talk through terms and conditions and have questions addressed. Physical bank branches are necessary in order to fulfill this service expectation. As more financial institutions have turned to online and mobile banking, some baby boomers who are slow to adapt to banking technology have been isolated as a result. 2. Retirement Planning. With the average life span in the U.S. expanding each year, and so many baby boomers on the road to retirement, the need for retirement planning resources becomes more and more pressing for many banking customers. "In my experience, the most stressful situation that baby boomers encounter is the fear of running out of money d

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

Top Financial Stocks For 2014: WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund (DLN)

WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Index (the Index). The Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the large-capitalization segment of the United States dividend-paying market. The Index consists of the 300 largest companies ranked by market capitalization from the WisdomTree Dividend Index.

The Index is dividend weighted annually to reflect the proportionate share of the aggregate cash dividends each component company is projected to pay in the coming year, based on the most recently declared dividend per share. The Fund�� investment advisor is WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of WisdomTree Investments, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Rosenbluth, Senior Director, S&P Capital IQ]

  The smallest of the four ETFs is WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend Fund (DLN) which owns the 300 largest US dividend paying companies; their median market capitalization is $20 billion.

Top Financial Stocks For 2014: Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares ETF (YANG)

Direxion Daily China Bear 3x Shares (the Fund) seeks daily investment results of 300% of the inverse (or opposite) of the price performance of the BNY China Select ADR Index (the China Index). The China Index is a free float-adjusted capitalization-weighted index designed by the Bank of New York to track the performance of a basket of companies who have their primary equity listing on a stock exchange in China and which also have depositary receipts that trade on a United States exchange or on the National Association of Securities and Dealers Automated Quotation. Under normal circumstances, it focuses on creating short positions, by investing at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities that comprise its underlying index and/or futures contracts; options on securities, indices and futures contracts; equity caps, collars and floors; forward contracts; repurchase agreements, and reverse repurchase agreements. The Fund�� investment adviser is Rafferty Asset Management LLC. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By pamatlarge]

  Three short ETFs are designed to profit from China�� economic downward slide. The ProShares Short FTSE China 25 (YXI), an unleveraged ETF, holds shares in iShares FTSE China Large-Cap (FXI) swaps. Investors looking to magnify their returns can choose from two leveraged short ETFs: ProShares Ultra Short FTSE China 25 (FXP) and Direxion Daily China Bear 3x Shares (YANG). Both ProShares Ultra Short and Direxion Daily hold shares that increase in value three times faster than an unleveraged ETF. The downside is that the per share price of these leveraged ETFs also drops three times faster.

Top Financial Stocks For 2014: WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Fund (EES)

WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Index (the Index). The Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of earnings-generating companies within the small-capitalization segment of the United States stock market. The Index consists of the companies in the bottom 25% of the market capitalization of the WisdomTree Earnings Index after the 500 largest companies have been removed. Companies must be incorporated and listed in the United States, and must have generated positive cumulative earnings over their most recent four fiscal quarters prior to the Index measurement date. The Index is earnings-weighted in December to reflect the proportionate share of the aggregate earnings each component company has generated. Companies with greater earnings generally have larger weights in the Index. Its investment advisor is WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Philip Springer]

  WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Fund (EES) follows earnings generated by companies in the small-cap universe of the US stock market.

  Furthermore, the fund looks to weight by earnings, giving bigger weights to firms that earn more, irrespective of market capitalization.

Top Financial Stocks For 2014: SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY)

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate the price and yield of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index (the Index). The Index is designed to measure the performance of 50 highest dividend yielding S&P Composite 1500 constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 years. These stocks have both capital growth and dividend income characteristics.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing approach and attempts to approximate the investment performance of its benchmark index, by investing in a portfolio of stocks intended to replicate the Index. SSgA Funds Management, Inc. acts as the Adviser of the Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By J. Royden Ward]

  SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) holds all the companies in the S&P 1500 Index which have raised their dividends every year for the past 20 years. The objective of SDY is to include companies which have increased their dividends consistently. Only 85 qualify out of 1,500 companies!

Top Financial Stocks For 2014: Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) is an Austria-based bank that focuses on corporate and retail banking sector. The Bank offers a range of products and consulting services, as well as market knowledge. The Bank�� products and solutions include financing, leasing, investing, hedging, trade & export finance, investment banking, cash management, payment services, custody & fund services, and cards, among others. RBI is organized into seven segments: the Central Europe segment encompassed the banking markets in the European Union countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region; the Southeastern Europe segment comprises Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Croatia, among others; the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) other segment comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine; the Group Corporates segment covers business with corporate customers of the Bank; the Group Markets segment covers capital market customers and business; Corporate Center, and Russia. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rebecca Bundhun]

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently banned banks from issuing loans under the ��0:20 scheme�� which, through a three-way agreement between the lender, the developer, and the homebuyer, allowed the customer to pay 20% upfront, while the remainder of the loan would be issued to the developer, regardless of the stage of construction.

Top Financial Stocks For 2014: MFS Multimarket Income Trust (MMT)

MFS Multimarket Income Trust (the Trust) is a closed-end fund and maintains a portfolio that includes investments in investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, United States Government securities, and international investment-grade and emerging markets debt securities. The Trust's investment objective is to seek high-current income, but may also consider capital appreciation. During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007, shares of the Trust provided a total return of 5.19%, at net asset value, underperforming the Multimarket Income Trust Blended Index, the EMBI Global, Government/Mortgage and United States High-Yield indices.

The Trust is managed by Massachusetts Financial Services Company (MFS). MFS normally invests at least 80% of the fund's net assets in fixed income securities. MFS may also invest the fund's assets in equity securities. MFS may invest up to 100% of the fund's assets in lower quality debt instruments, including those that are in default. MFS may invest the fund's assets in United States and foreign securities, including emerging market securities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Perhaps more importantly for income seekers, due to the use of leverage, many CEFs pay above-average dividends — to the tune of 5 to 8%. Here are some of the best bargains in CEFs today.

  MFS Multimarket Income Trust (MMT)

  Discount to NAV: 11.96%
  Distribution Yield: 6.76%