It didn't take long after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ) welcomed four former AIG (NYSE: AIG ) executives into the fold that it introduced a new, specialty insurance arm to the world.
Based in Boston, Mass., the new entity will sell�commercial insurance products encompassing property & casualty, as well as professional liability insurance. The public got some insight into Buffett's plan when the AIG crew came on board, but the Oracle had been planning this move for some time, telling Bloomberg�right before Berkshire's annual meeting, "We would like to get into the commercial-insurance business very big time."
Insurance is in Buffett's blood
It's no secret that Buffett has a soft spot in his heart for the insurance industry. His company currently owns GEICO Insurance and reinsurer General Re, and he can thank the insurance industry for much of his success: For while there is no doubt that Buffett is a premium investor, the insurance industry has provided him with the fodder needed to grow his empire.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Aegon NV(AEG)
AEGON N.V. provides life insurance, pensions, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company?s life insurance products include traditional, term, universal, whole, and other life insurance products sold as part of defined benefit pension plans, endowment policies, post-retirement annuity products, and group risk products; supplemental health insurance products comprise accidental death, other injury, critical illness, hospital indemnity, medicare supplement, and student health; specialty lines consists of travel, membership, and creditor products; and long term care insurance products for policyholders who require care due to a chronic illness or cognitive impairment. It also offers a range of savings and retirement products and services, including mutual funds, and fixed and variable annuities, savings accounts and investment contracts, segregated funds, guaranteed investment accounts, and single premium immediate annuities, as well as investment advice to individuals. In addition, the company offers employer solutions and pensions, such as retirement plans, pension plans, and pension-related products and services; investment products, including onshore and offshore bonds, and trusts; reinsurance products and solutions to life insurance and financial services companies; general insurance products comprising house, car, and fire insurance; and asset management products and services, including general account assets, unit-linked funds, and third party activities. AEGON N.V. markets its products through independent and career agents, financial planners, registered representatives, independent marketing organizations, banks, broker-dealers, benefit consulting firms, wirehouses, affinity groups, institutional partners, independent managing general agencies, and specialized financial advisors, as well as through online, direct, and worksite marketing. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherl ands.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Invensys(ISYS.L)
Invensys plc develops and applies technologies that enable the operation of manufacturing and energy-generating facilities, mainline and mass transit rail networks, and appliances worldwide. The company?s Invensys Operations Management division provides technology, software, and consulting services. Its services create and apply technologies to facilitate operation of industrial and commercial operations, such as oil refineries, fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, petrochemical works, and other manufacturing sites. This division offers Foxboro and Eurotherm recorders, and other equipment that measure and record plant information; distributed control systems, and Triconex, an automated safety system; SimSci-Esscor simulation software, which allows plant operators to simulate various scenarios for training purposes; and Avantis asset management software that schedules predictive maintenance. The company?s Invensys Rail division provides software-based signaling, communic ation, and control systems that facilitate operation of trains in mainline and mass transit networks. This division offers rail trackside and train-based monitoring products for the measurement of traffic in a rail network, identifying where trains are, and how fast they are going. Its European rail traffic management system, communication based train control, and train safety solutions control traffic on rail networks. The company?s Invensys Controls division designs, engineers, and manufactures products, components, systems, and services used in appliances, heating, air conditioning/cooling, and refrigeration products in a range of industries in residential and commercial markets. This division?s products within appliances or climate control systems various conditions comprising heat, humidity, and pressure. The company is based in London, the United Kingdom.
Top 5 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: Total System Services Inc.(TSS)
Total System Services, Inc. provides electronic payment processing and other services to card-issuing and merchant acquiring institutions. The company offers issuer account solutions, including processing the card application, initiating service for the cardholder, processing each card transaction for the issuing retailer or financial institution, and accumulating the account's transactions; fraud management services; and other services, such as customized communications to cardholders, and information verification associated with granting credit, debt collection, and customer service. It also provides merchant processing and related services that comprise processing various payment forms, such as credit, debit, prepaid, electronic benefit transfer, and electronic check; authorization and capture of transactions; clearing and settlement of transactions; information reporting services related to transactions; merchant billing services; and point-of-sale equipment sales and service. In addition, the company offers issuer and merchant card solutions. Total System Services, Inc. provides its services through online accounting and electronic payment processing systems. It operates primarily in the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Asia Pacific, and Brazil. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Columbus, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Kyial Robinson]
Total Systems Services (NYSE: TSS) is typically quiet but steady.
The company has impressively kept its 52-week high and 52-week low between a $10 dollar margin.
- [By Jane Edmondson]
One additional item of note: the stock has been a rumored take-out candidate since another large competitor, NetSpend (NTSP), received an offer to be acquired in February by global payment solutions provider TSYS (TSS).
- [By Rich Duprey]
Paperless payments provider�Total System Services� (NYSE: TSS ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.10 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past six quarters.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Bk Of Montreal Com Npv (BMO.TO)
Bank of Montreal, together with its subsidiaries, provides various retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and services in North America and internationally. It offers personal banking products and services, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, loans, credit cards, financial planning, insurance, and other banking services to individuals, and small and mid-sized businesses; and commercial banking products and services comprising specialized banking, business accounts and plans, credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management, investing, foreign exchange, and financial advisory to small business, medium-sized enterprise, and mid-market banking clients. The company also provides capital raising, investing, advisory, treasury, and research services to corporate, institutional, and government clients; and wealth management products and solutions, including insurance products for mainstream, ultr a-high net worth, and institutional client segments. As of October 31, 2012, it maintained approximately 1,570 bank branches in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: SYSWIN Inc.(SYSW)
Syswin Inc. provides real estate service in the People's Republic of China. It offers real estate sales agency services to property developers relating to new residential properties; and real estate consultancy services, including project consultancy services to developer clients, as well as primary land development consultancy and agency services to primary land developers. It operates in 17 cities in the People's Republic of China. The company is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: TriQuint Semiconductor Inc.(TQNT)
TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. provides radio frequency (RF) solutions and technology for communications, defense, and aerospace companies worldwide. The company designs, develops, and manufactures RF solutions with gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride, bipolar high electron mobility transistor, surface acoustic wave (SAW), temperature compensated surface acoustic wave, bulk acoustic wave (BAW), copper flip, and wafer level packaging technologies. The company offers an array of filtering, switching, and amplification products for RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave applications. It sells electronic components for mobile phones, including transmit modules, RF filters, power amplifiers and power amplifier modules, duplexers, switches, other RF devices, and integrated products to mobile device manufacturers. The company also offers signal amplification and filtering products, including a portfolio of GaAs microwave monolithic integrated circuits and transistors, and SAW and BAW filter components that support the transfer of voice, data, and video across wireless or wired infrastructure. Its network products comprise millimeter wave power amplifiers, frequency converters, and voltage controlled oscillators. In addition, the company provides defense and aerospace devices, including packaged products, die-level integrated circuits (ICs), microwave monolithic ICs, and multi-chip modules to military contractors serving the U.S. government for use in various communications and phased array radar programs, such as ship-based, airborne, and battlefield systems, as well as sat-com, electronic warfare, and guidance applications. Further, TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. offers foundry services. The company sells its products through independent manufacturers? representatives, independent distributors, and direct sales staff. TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT ) is aiming to boost the value of its shares with a fresh repurchase scheme. The firm announced it has authorized the buyback of up to $75 million worth of its common stock. This will be bought "from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices or through privately negotiated transactions at the discretion of Company management."
- [By Nate Pile]
Steve Halpern: So, for your specific recommendations in the semiconductor sector, you've initially taken positions in TriQuint Semiconductor (TQNT), Cirrus Logic (CRUS), and NVIDIA (NVDA). Could you tell us about those positions and the strategy that you're using with them?
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Falcon Minerals Ltd(FCN.AX)
Falcon Minerals Limited engages in the exploration of mineral properties in Australia. The company explores for gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, uranium, and platinum group elements, as well as other base metals and mineral sands. It has interests in The Collurabbie project, which is located in the Duketon Greenstone Belt of western Australia; The Saxby project that is located in the northeast of Cloncurry in northwest Queensland; The North Duketon project; Peake-Denison project, which is located in the Gawler Craton, South Australia; The Windanning joint venture that is located in the north-east of Perth; The Palthrubie and Lake Acraman projects, which are located in the Gawler Craton region of south Australia; and The Mulgarrie project that is located in the western Australia. The company is based in Subiaco, Australia.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Twin Butte Energy Com Npv (TBE.TO)
Twin Butte Energy Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas properties in Western Canada. The company�s principal properties include the Frog Lake property, Silverdale area, Freemont area, and Primate area located in the Lloydminster region of Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. It has approximately 220,000 net undeveloped acres of land. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: NetLogic Microsystems Inc.(NETL)
NetLogic Microsystems, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and sells processors and integrated circuits used in mobile wireless infrastructure, data center, enterprise, metro Ethernet, and edge and core infrastructure networks. Its product portfolio includes multi-core communications processors, knowledge-based processors, high-speed 10/40/100 gigabit Ethernet physical layer devices, network search engines, and ultra low-power embedded processors. These products are designed into various systems, such as switches, routers, wireless base stations, access aggregation, radio network controllers, security appliances, networked storage appliances, service gateways, and connected media devices offered by original equipment manufacturers. The company markets and sells its products through its direct sales force and distributors, as well as through independent sales representatives worldwide. NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. was fou nded in 1995 and is based in Santa Clara,, California.
Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Malvern Federal Bancorp Inc.(MLVF)
Malvern Federal Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Malvern Federal Savings Bank, which is a federally chartered savings bank. It provides banking services in Pennsylvania. The company engages in attracting deposits from the general public and using those funds to invest in loans and investment securities. Its deposit products include interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, as well as money market, savings, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company?s loan products principally include one-to four family residential mortgage loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans, unsecured personal loans, and loans secured by deposits. It conducts business from its headquarters and eight full-service branches in Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Paoli, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tim Melvin]
Malvern Federal (MLVF) is a great example of a small financial institution at a cheap price with a sound financial condition. The bank has 8 branches in the Chester and Delaware counties of Pennsylvania. The bank has been around since 1897 and currently has about $600 million in assets. MLVF has a great balance sheet, with an equity-to-assets ratio of 10.9 and nonperforming assets that are just 1.98% of total assets.
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