AllianceBernstein Executing Well, But Operating Conditions Are Increasingly Challenging

AllianceBernstein (AB) has been my favorite asset manager for some time now and the recent performance trends (both company-specific financials and stock market) have done nothing to shake my preference – AB has strongly outperformed peers/rivals like Invesco (IVZ), Franklin Resources (BEN), BlackRock (BLK), Cohen & Steers (CNS), Waddell & Reed (WDR), Janus Henderson (JHG), BrightSphere (BSIG), Eaton Vance (EV), and Legg Mason (LM) over the past two years, outperformed all of those and T.Rowe Price (TROW) over the past year, and outperformed most of those since my last update in September.

This current year is shaping up to be a more challenging one for the entire space, as market-driven AUM declines undermine the fee base and jittery investors may well pull more funds from the market. In the case of AB, though, the company has continued to outperform with respect to fund flows and I see more long-term potential from operating leverage, even if the next year or two do see a step down in keeping with the broader sector challenges. Although AB shares aren’t appropriate for all investors or portfolios (consult with a tax professional on this), I believe the shares remain undervalued enough to be worth considering, particularly if you want a more income-skewed return profile.

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AllianceBernstein Executing Well, But Operating Conditions Are Increasingly Challenging

Investopedia: Stocks With Dividends And Growth

Sometimes growth stocks and income-producing stocks are arrayed against each other as some sort of "bubblegum vs. potato chips" argument. In reality, though, investors can usually find a pretty healthy menu of choices among companies that not only return a meaningful dividend to shareholders, but also have growth prospects strong enough to drive future capital appreciation. Although an investor should always hold a diversified portfolio to minimize company-specific risks, a selection of these stocks could offer a bit of the best of both worlds. 


Healthcare 
Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) is a frequent-flier in articles about quality companies, dividend-paying companies, quality dividend-paying companies, consistent dividend-payers, and so on. Well, there's a good reason for that - Abbott is a legit star when it comes to sharing its success with its owners. On top of that, Abbott has an uncanny knack for finding breakaway winners just when analysts sour on the company's future growth prospects (first Humira, then drug-coated stents). Abbott does have some near-threats to its growth, but it would seem unwise to assume the worst for this proven healthcare giant. (For more, see Healthy Dividend-Growth Ideas In Healthcare.)

Finance
Given that it has been around so long, it may be hard to think of M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) as a "growth" candidate. That said, the company still operates in only a relatively small geographic part of the company and there is certainly room to grow by acquisition and/or superior execution. This is a well-run bank that offers a solid dividend and above-average long-term growth prospects. 




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