5 Money Management Stocks To Improve Your Finances

Backed by the improving rate scenario and President Trump’s policy goals, the year 2017 kicked off on an impressive note. Zacks Investment Management Industry (part of the broader Zacks Finance Sector) has been performing decently since then, following an upbeat performance last year.

Industry Prospects

With some monthly variability, both equity and fixed income recorded relatively steady inflows over the last several months. Despite the prevailing global concerns, the U.S. economy is witnessing steady improvement. This, combined with growing demand for personalized investment products, is anticipated to enhance the growth opportunities for the asset management industry.

This is clearly evident from the industry’s 15.2% gain in six months’ time, as compared with just 10.3% gain of the S&P 500 Index.

While asset managers have been facing a number of headwinds like stringent regulatory scrutiny, fee pressure and escalating costs, demand for new investment products at lower costs continue to support their bottom line. Further, with increased use of technology, asset managers have been able to enhance efficiency and operate profitably.

Additionally, favorable equity markets and low volatility are supporting asset managers with increasing client investments. Moreover, rising interest rates are leading to decline in fee waivers. Also, demand for alternative investment sources is aiding revenue growth for investment managers.

Weakness of the U.S. dollar is also driving the global diversified assets mix. Though active managers are striving hard over passive managers, they have recorded growth in asset classes including international small-cap equity and core fixed income.

Overall, investment management companies will likely come up with a value proposition under which both performance and fee meet clients’ increasing demands.

Industry Rank Indicates Upside Potential

The current Zacks Industry Rank for investment management stocks shows significant upside potential.

This 51-company industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of #82, which places it at the top 32% of the 250 plus Zacks Industries. Our back-testing shows that the top 50% of the Zacks ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.

Studies have revealed that an average stock in a strong industry is likely to perform better than an exceptional stock in an industry that is out of favor with investors. Thus, the combination of top-rated industries and stocks will surely enhance your investment portfolio.

Selecting the Winning Stocks

We have handpicked some investment management stocks with the help of the Zacks Stock Screener. We have selected stocks which carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and have expected long-term (3-5 years) EPS growth rate of more than 5%.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

To narrow down the list, we have picked stocks with positive earnings estimate revisions for the past 60 days.

Here are five top-ranked stocks that meet the criteria:

New York-based Cohen & Steers Inc (NYSE:CNS) is a publicly-owned asset management holding company providing services to institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments and foundations, globally.

Zacks Rank: #2
Expected EPS Growth (3-5 years): 6.1%
Market Cap: $1.8 billion
Change Current Year Estimate (8 weeks): 2.6%

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) , headquartered in New York, is a publicly-owned investment manager, offering research services to investment companies, pension and profit sharing plans, banks and thrift institutions, trusts, estates, government agencies, charitable organizations, individuals, corporations, and other business entities worldwide.

Zacks Rank: #2
Expected EPS Growth (3-5 years): 7.4%
Market Cap: $2.2 billion
Change Current Year Estimate (8 weeks): 2.5%

KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR) , headquartered in New York, is a private equity and real estate investment firm which is specialized in direct and fund of fund investments in the fintech sector internationally.

Zacks Rank: #2
Expected EPS Growth (3-5 years): 60.6%
Market Cap: $8.9 billion
Change Current Year Estimate (8 weeks): 15.5%

Des Moines, IA-based Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services around the world.

Zacks Rank: #2
Expected EPS Growth (3-5 years): 9.2%
Market Cap: $18.1 billion
Change Current Year Estimate (8 weeks): 2.2%

Bala Cynwyd, PA-based Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE) is an investment firm specialized in direct and fund of fund investments. It invests in private equity markets in North America, Latin America, the United States, Western Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the U.K., Asia, Japan and Australia.

Zacks Rank: #2
Expected EPS Growth (3-5 years): 15%
Market Cap: $451.6 million
Change Current Year Estimate (8 weeks): 3.9%

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