Strong reputations give these two an edge

Article Excerpt

These two firms provide specialized services to banks and other large financial institutions. Long-term relationships with their clients make it difficult for new competitors to enter either of these markets. However, we see State Street as the better choice for new buying. STATE STREET CORP. $58 (New York symbol STT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 395.9 million; Market cap: $23.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.statestreet.com) sells accounting and administrative services to large institutional investors such as mutual funds and pension plans. State Street recently agreed to buy General Electric’s asset management business for $485 million. This operation manages pension plans and other portfolios for over 100 institutional investors. The purchase will add $100 billion to the company’s $2.3 trillion in assets under management (as of March 31, 2016). Its income rises and falls with the value of the mutual funds and other securities it manages. In addition, State Street is currently restructuring…