- Analyst Alexander Blostein raises the trust banks (STT, BK, NTRS) to attractive and upgrades State Street (STT +2.1%) to Buy from Neutral. He sees 2017 as bringing an inflection point in the banks' high-margin revenue streams, with currency trading set to recover thanks to rising global uncertainty.
- He also sees "room to run" in the exchanges, and gives CBOE Holdings (CBOE +1.5%) a two-notch upgrade to Buy. ICE and Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) remain top picks.
- Turning to alternative investment managers, Blostein wonders if they could lead this year after lagging in 2016. He upgrades Apollo Global (NYSE:APO) to Buy, and it, along with Oaktree (NYSE:OAK) and Blackstone (NYSE:BX) are top picks.
- It's the same old story for traditional asset managers, and Blostein remains negative. He downgrades Artisan Partners (APAM -3.3%) to Sell and BlackRock (BLK -0.5%) to Neutral. Affiliated Managers (AMG +0.1%) is pulled from the Conviction List.