Q: For the last 10 years, SLF has been the better stock to own. Since December 2023, MFC has been better. In their most recent earnings MFC beat and SLF missed. MFC's PE is a little higher, dividends are about the same, SLF has better ROE, MFC has a much better profit margin. If buying one of them today, which do you think is better going forward? Or with the chance interest rates will be coming down in the next year would it be better to buy a bank instead?
5i Research Answer:
We think both are still likely to have more potential than most banks, and are also likely less vulnerable to a recession/housing decline. We have posted comments on SLF today. One quarter of course does not make a trend. MFC has certainly improved, but we would still prefer SLF overall for its better long term execution.