This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.
"McCain, a friend of Wall Street, would encourage investing through tax breaks, which ultimately means more profits for Barclays (NYSE: BCS), the British bank that has acquired Lehman Brothers' U.S. investment banking assets," notes Vivian Lewis in her Global Investing.
"Barclays is now investing hugely in the business of U.S. investing, having picked up the investment banking and asset management businesses of Lehman.
"Barclays got a bargain, cherry picking the bits of Lehman worth the most, including the HQ building in NY. It was required by British regulators to immediately issue a program for financing the acquisition to reassure markets worried about capital sufficiency.
"The new assets will beef up Barclays' U.S. presence (and its U.S. risk). The British bank already is a major player in the issuance of Exchange Traded Funds, a cheap and popular 21st century investment mode.
"Adding Lehman to the pot will further boost its prowess in this special part of fund management. Then too, the international connection will probably result in new business in managing money for other investors like high-net worth individuals.
"But the real payoff will come from investment banking where Barclays was not a player before: mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, bond and stock placement, and dealing in Treasury bonds.
"As the U.S. finally tackles the cause of the current crisis by working to create an entity to finance soured mortgages, Barclays will be on the sidelines, as it has already provisioned its old lump of toxic CDOs and other U.S. paper.
"The risks are that the global recovery is delayed, and that the integration of the U.S. investment bank goes badly.
"Politically, Barclays is probably considered a pair of 'safe hands' and its much less lucrative pay scale for executives may wind up as a model for the U.S. should there be an Obama administration."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
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