Diversions January 13, 2011

Throw Your Bets Down

With NFL play-off season underway, the epicenter of gambling – Las Vegas – offers some pointers for those looking to place a bet on the championship game.  
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Las Vegas-based Pregame.com came out with its thoughts on play-off season and who it thinks will go all the way:

New England Patriots 

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Chance of winning Super Bowl: 35%

After killing the Jets, 45-3, on December 6, the Patriots appeared unstoppable. Pregame.com gives the team better chances of winning than the next three teams–the Falcons, Steelers and Bears–combined.

Atlanta Falcons 

Chance of winning Super Bowl: 14%

The Falcons are 33-15 since young QB Matt Ryan came on board three years ago; 19-29 the three previous years.  Atlanta needs just two post-season wins at home, where they’ve lost just once all year. Early betting this week favors the Falcons over visiting Green Bay.

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Chance of winning Super Bowl: 12%

Despite having a home-field advantage, the Steelers game against the Ravens will not be easy, and that would be followed by a trip to New England–a difficult path for any team to reach the Super Bowl. But Vegas pegs the odds at 62% that the Steelers will beat Baltimore this weekend.

Green Bay Packers 

Chance of winning Super Bowl: 11%

The Packers nearly doubled its odds following victory in Philadelphia in round one. But the next game is in Atlanta, where the Falcons almost never lose.

Chicago Bears 

Chance of winning Super Bowl: 11%

Pregame.com says if you enjoy betting for something other than the frontrunner, the Bears are the way to go.  The Bears’ odds climbed from 8% after Seattle knocked off New Orleans. A home win over the Seahawks (an 80% certainty, says Las Vegas) is all Chicago needs to advance to the NFC Championship Game.

Baltimore Ravens 

Chances of winning Super Bowl: 9%

The Ravens are getting some early action this week for their game in Pittsburgh. The club’s championship odds are better than last week (5%), before the Jets pulled out a win in Indianapolis. Had the Colts won, it would be the Ravens visiting New England this weekend instead of the Jets. But the prospect of back-to-back wins over the Steelers and the Patriots or Jets is still pretty daunting.

New York Jets 

Chance of winning Super Bowl: 6%

No matter what he says, Rex Ryan will have a hard time convincing anyone his team can go all the way.  Las Vegas says there’s only a 21% chance they win at New England this Sunday. The one thing bettors do like: the Jets at least covering the 8.5 points they’re getting against the Patriots. Early wagering for that game is tilting toward New York.

Seattle Seahawks 

Chance of winning Super Bowl: 2%

At least their odds are up from under 1% last week. Seattle gave us a thriller in the divisional round, highlighted by a multi-tackle breaking 67-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch that might have been the most exciting run from scrimmage in NFL history. But few expect the magic to last–Vegas gives the Bears an 80% shot of beating the Seahawks this week.

Deals & People January 12, 2011

Manulife Names New Core Value Equity Team

Manulife Asset Management named Walter T. McCormick and Emory W. Sanders, Jr.,to lead a new Boston-based Core Value Equity team.
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McCormick and Sanders, both Senior Managing Directors and Senior Portfolio Managers, will manage large cap value, large cap core, and all cap core strategies for external institutional clients and for certain wealth management businesses of John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial. In addition, Gary Mishuris, Managing Director and Senior Analyst; and Jonathan White, Managing Director and Senior Analyst, have been hired for the team.  

The team will report to Christopher Conkey, Chief Investment Officer, Global Equities, Manulife Asset Management.  

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According to a press release, McCormick and Sanders join Manulife Asset Management from Wells Capital Management in Boston, where they managed large cap value and large cap core strategies.    

McCormick most recently was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager with the Berkeley Street Equity team at Wells Capital Management. He joined Wells Capital when it acquired Evergreen Investments, where he had served in a similar role since 2002. Earlier, he served as head of the Large Cap Core Growth team at Keystone Investments, which was subsequently merged into Evergreen Investments, and head of the Large Cap Value team at David L. Babson & Co.   He earned a bachelor’s degree from Providence College, an MBA from Rutgers University.

Sanders most recently was a Director, Portfolio Manager and Senior Equity Analyst with the Large Cap equity research team at Wells Capital Management, the announcement said. He joined Wells Capital from Evergreen Investments, where he had served in a similar role since beginning his investment management career in 1997.  He is a graduate of the University of Vermont.   

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