The Best Financial Stock for 2007

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Obvious Guy says: There's big money in financial services. Consider that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) employees received Christmas bonuses worth $16 billion -- about $600,000 per person.

You may be wondering how you can get a piece of this action. Well, we're here to help you find the best financial stock for 2007. You won't get your hands on those huge bonuses, but you may be able to share in the wealth with a few carefully chosen financial stocks.

You'll find a myriad of investing options in the sector. The big banks such as JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) offer steady dividends, while smaller lenders, including First Cash (NYSE: FCFS), offer explosive growth opportunities.

You'll also find plenty of value opportunities. Our own value guru Philip Durell has a penchant for unloved asset managers and insurers. Legg Mason (NYSE: LM), one of Philip's recent recommendations, just happens to be one of five stocks competing for the title in this contest. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) owns a significant stake in another one of our entrants.

Once you've read the arguments for each stock, make your opinion known in the free Motley Fool CAPS stock-rating service. If you agree with our take, rate the stock an outperform. Disagree? Rate it an underperform.

Based on your ratings, we'll declare a winner early next week. After you've read about each nominee, join CAPS to add your rating.

Our contestants:

• Legg Mason
• Wells Fargo
• First Cash Financial
• Capital One Financial
• Bank of America

Berkshire Hathaway and Legg Mason are Inside Value recommendations. JPMorgan Chase is an Income Investor pick. Check out either newsletter service free for 30 days.

Joey Khattab does not own shares of any company mentioned above. The Fool's disclosure policy is always a winner.