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1. 2 Mark Curtis Smith Barney Palo Alto, Calif. § § § § § § $12,000 N/A N/A 10.000

2. 4 Brian Pfeifler Morgan Stanley New York § § 3,500 25 50+ 9.930

3. 7 Gregory Vaughan Morgan Stanley Menlo Park, Calif. § § § 10,500 20-50 50+ 9.886

4. 5 Augie Cenname Merrill Lynch Columbus, Ohio § 5,700 5-500 20-1,000+ 9.875

5. 6 Marvin McIntyre Smith Barney Washington, D.C. § § § § 2,750 1 - 20 5-50 9.859

6. 10 Howard Rowen Deutsche Bank Alex.Brown Los Angeles § § 1,500 25 50+ 9.847

7. N Richard Zinman Smith Barney New York § § 5,000 10+ 25+ 9.842

8. 39 Phil Scott Merrill Lynch Bellevue, Wash. § § 1,300 3-10 10-20 9.841

9. 3 Richard Saperstein Bear Stearns New York § § 8,270 60 na 9.801

10. 9 Jon Goldstein Smith Barney Menlo Park, Calif. § § 4,900 25+ 50+ 9.773

11. 11 Robert Dixon Morgan Stanley Menlo Park, Calif. § § § 10,500 20-50 50+ 9.759

12. N Jeffrey Schottenstein Merrill Lynch San Francisco § 2,700 50 100 9.757

13. 18 Ira Walker Morgan Stanley Red Bank, N.J. § § § 3,000 10+ 35+ 9.744

14. 12 Louis Chiavacci Merrill Lynch Coral Gables, Fla. § § 2,500 20-30 40-50 9.719

15. 14 Ric Edelman Edelman Financial Svcs Fairfax, Va. § § 2,700 0.4 2 9.687

16. 13 Drew Zager Morgan Stanley Los Angeles § 5,400 50 100 9.651

17. 28 Martin Halbfinger UBS Financial Svcs New York § § 1,500 2-50 5-100 9.633

18. 15 Robert Stulberg Merrill Lynch Bloomfield Hills, Mich. § § 2,200 2-50+ 5-100+ 9.622

19. 17 Bill Gurtin Morgan Stanley Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. § 5,000 5-500 10-1,000 9.600

20. 19 Paul Tramontano Smith Barney New York § § § 6,000 5 25 9.579

21. 23 Jeff Erdmann Merrill Lynch Greenwich, Conn. § § 3,000 5-50 25-70 9.516

22. 24 Dana Jackson Smith Barney Menlo Park, Calif. § § 6,500 15+ 25+ 9.508

23. 25 Raj Sharma Merrill Lynch Boston § § § § 4,450 10 10 9.505

24. 37 Ron Carson Carson Wealth Mgmt Omaha, Neb. § § § 1,442 1-5+ 5-12 9.501

25. 22 Richard Blosser Morgan Stanley Los Angeles § § § § 2,500 25-50 50+ 9.499

26. 20 Mark Sear Merrill Lynch Los Angeles § § 5,600 20 30 9.497

27. 21 David Hou Merrill Lynch Los Angeles § § 5,600 20 30 9.497

28. N Roger Coleman Smith Barney New York § § § § 3,900 2-5 10-20 9.490

29. 32 Sanford Katz UBS Financial Svcs San Francisco § 1,325 15-150 15-150 9.483

30. N Richard F. Connolly UBS Financial Svcs Boston § 1,860 N/A 2.5+ 9.457

31. 26 Joseph Montgomery Wachovia Securities Williamsburg, Va. § § § 7,300 3-10 5-15 9.431

32. 27 Jim Hansberger Smith Barney Atlanta § § § § 1,500 N/A 10-20 9.429

33. 34 Saly Glassman Merrill Lynch Blue Bell, Pa. § § § 1,050 3-5 10 9.413

34. 30 John W. Rafal Essex Financial Svcs Essex, Conn. § § § § 1,400 2 3-10 9.399

35. 31 Rebecca Rothstein Smith Barney Beverly Hills, Calif. § § § § 1,000 10 20 9.386

36. N George Schietinger Credit Suisse New York § § 1,350 10+ 25+ 9.376

37. N Shelley Bergman Bear Stearns New York § § § 1,245 1-25 5-100 9.373

38. N Troy Griepp Morgan Stanley San Francisco § § 3,500 20-50 10-200 9.36

39. 43 George Dunn Smith Barney Washington, D.C. § § § § 3,800 25-500+ 50-1,000 9.358

40. 40 Bernard King UBS Financial Svcs St Louis § § § § 1,085 3.5 7 9.330

41. 48 Michael Johnston Smith Barney Irvine, Calif. § 1,953 10-25+ 15-50+ 9.327

42. N Dale Reed JPMorgan Private Bank Los Angeles § 12,000 25-200 100-1,000 9.326

43. 45 Alan Whitman Morgan Stanley Pasadena, Calif. § § § 1,118 1-10+ 3-20+ 9.319

44. 54 Dana Locniskar Merrill Lynch Detroit § § 3,500 5-25+ 10-30+ 9.310

45. 29 John Korbell Smith Barney San Antonio § § 1,100 1-5 5-10 9.293

46. 42 Charles Zhang Ameriprise Financial Svcs Portage, Mich. § § 800 2 3.5 9.271

47. 46 John Kulhavi Merrill Lynch Farmington Hills, Mich. § § § 785 500-3 2-5 9.268

48. N William J. Greco UBS Financial Svcs Hartford, Conn. § § § 1,775 4-6 8-12 9.240

49. 53 Jonathan Harris Morgan Stanley San Francisco § § § 3,000 20 20-100 9.235

50. N Christopher Aitken Smith Barney Lutherville, Md. § § § § 2,800 10-50 20-75 9.225

51. 61 John Cooke Wachovia Securities Indianapolis § § § § 1,180 1-15 2-40 9.216

52. 59 Rich Petit Morgan Stanley Menlo Park, Calif. § § § 5,000 25 50-100 9.214

53. N Scott W. Christopher JPMorgan Private Bank Los Angeles § 12,000 35-200 25-1,000+ 9.207

54. 57 Steve Hefter Morgan Stanley Riverwoods, Ill. § § 1,332 5-150 10-1,000 9.201

55. 52 Lori Van Dusen Smith Barney Rochester, N.Y. § § § 3,000 50 60 9.192

The Top 100Here are America’s best financial advisers from brokerages and banks, as identified by industry researcher R.J. Shook, author of The Winner’s Circle books. The advisers, he says, follow the industry’sbest practics and have the biggest books of business. The scoring system assigns a value of 10 to the top adviser, then calculates the others’ scores by comparing each with the No. 1 finisher in termsof assets under management, revenue, customer satisfaction and other factors. Total assets are those of the adviser’s team; they include both those at the firm and those held elsewhere but overseen by the team. Institutional assets are given less weight in the scoring. N indicates an adviser is new to the list this year.

CUSTOMERSHigh Ultra-High Total Typical Typical

Rank Individuals Net Worth Net Worth Corpor- Found- Endow- Assets Account Net Worth’06 ’05 Name Firm Location (Up to $1 mil) ($1-10 mil) ($10 mil+) ations ations ments ($mil) ($mil) ($mil) Score

Continued on Page 32

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INSURERS IN THE LLOYD’S OF LON-don syndicate may be getting ready topull their backing of a large and con-troversial collectible-stamp business.The insurers are facing a May 1 dead-line to renew their theft-and-damagepolicies for the stamp hoard of Spain’sAfinsa Bienes—and a person familiarwith the matter thinks the group willwalk.

A withdrawal by the prestigious in-surers would be a black eye for Afinsaand could raise questions about Nasdaq-listed Escala Group (ticker: ESCL),which supplies Afinsa with stamps andis 69% owned by the Spanish firm.Afinsa declined to comment. Escala,whose shares have nearly tripled in thelast year, couldn’t be reached.

Barron’s cast a skeptical eye on theAfinsa stamp business last year (“StickySituation,” May 23, 2005). The companypromises that investors can earn 6% to10% annual returns by purchasingstamps from Afinsa and selling themback to it after a fixed period. The pro-gram, which has drawn some 150,000 in-vestors, is backed by a stamp collectionthat Afinsa claims is worth $1.5 billion.

The problem is that Afinsa values itsholdings based on prices in stamp cata-logs, which can be far above marketprices. The person familiar with the mat-ter suggested that at least some Lloyd’s

insurers have been basing their coverageon Afinsa’s valuation, and are now con-cerned. A Lloyd’s spokeswoman wouldn’tcomment on the situation.

London-based insurer Hiscox, aleading member of the Lloyd’s syndi-cate, last year stopped insuring theportfolio against fire and theft afterBarron’s highlighted Afinsa’s valua-tion method.

The 20 or so other members of thesyndicate have continued to offer cov-erage. But the source told Barron’s itis “highly unlikely” that the otherLloyd’s insurers will agree to renewtheir policies with Afinsa at the annualdeadline.

HSBC Insurance, Afinsa’s London-based insurance broker, reportedly hasbeen scouting for new insurers. HSBCdeclined to comment. —NEIL A. MARTIN

WE’RE REELING FROM WHEELING. THEshares of steel maker Wheeling-Pitts-burgh jumped more than 25%, to about45, in the firstmonth afterwe ran a favor-able profile of the company last year(“Still a Steel?,” Feb 7, 2005). But they’vesince fallen by half, and any hopes for abig bounce now look speculative, at best.

It’s true that the company, based inWheeling, W.Va., has made someprogress resolving operational prob-lems that had caused it to report twostraight quarterly losses—and to pre-dict a third, despite one of the strongestmarkets ever for steel. And takeovertalk last week did help the stock, fromthe high teens to 24.49.

Reports out of West Virginia and Pitts-burgh, citing numerous but unnamedsources, said Brazilian steel maker CiaSiderurgica Nacional, or CSN, and Chi-cago-based steel distributor Esmark,have expressed interest in Wheeling-Pittsburgh. CSN declined to comment.Esmark Chief Executive James Bou-chard declined to comment specifically onWheeling-Pittsburgh but noted his com-pany has earmarked $200 million in cashto participate in industry consolidation.

But how much Wheeling-Pittsburghmight fetch in a sale is still anybody’sguess. Given that the lowest prices paidin recent steel acquisitions were roughly$600 per ton of annual production, you

could imagine a price of around 60 ashare for Wheeling-Pittsburgh, whichproduces 2.5 million tons a year. But thatwould ignore the fact the company isn’tmaking any money and is payingthrough the nose for iron ore and coal,and its blast furnace needs maintenance.

While 60 would be a stretch, anythingunder 30 would be a steal, says one indus-try observer. Even when the stock was at18.70, it looked too speculative for UBSSecurities steel analyst Timna Tanners;she issued a Sell rating at that point.

And any deal could lead to seriouswrangling among shareholders. The com-pany’s Employee Stock Ownership Planholds 27% of the company and an outsideinvestor, Tontine Partners, owns close to10%. Investors might just want to steerclear of the clashing of heavy metal. —SANDRA WARD

The Dent in Wheeling-Pittsburgh

A Return Visit to Earlier Stories

Stamp of Disapproval

2005 2006

$45

35

25

15

5

Wheeling Pittsburgh (WPSC - NNM)Weekly close on April 20

Source: Thomson Financial/Baseline

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April 24, 2006 B A R R O N ' S 17

56. N James Hulburd Merrill Lynch San Francisco § 1,550 35-45 50-75 9.152

57. N Christopher Sargent Wachovia Securities Washington, D.C. § 673 2-3 5-10 9.146

58. N Rick Davidson Credit Suisse New York § § § 1,030 5 12 9.124

59. N Peter Rohr Merrill Lynch Philadelphia § § 1,205 20 25 9.122

60. 56 Thomas D. Lips UBS Financial Svcs Hartford, Conn. § § § 700 1-20 5-50 9.120

61. N Peter Rukeyser Morgan Stanley New York § § § 2,200 35 50 9.119

62. N Alexander Williams Morgan Stanley New York § § § 2,200 35 50 9.119

63. 63 Donald DeWees Wachovia Securities Wilmington, Del. § § § § 1,000 3.5+ 5+ 9.094

64. 65 Michael C. Dawson UBS Financial Svcs Houston § § 7,009 100 100+ 9.094

65. 47 Nick Bapis Morgan Stanley Salt Lake City § § § § 1,800 5 10 9.073

66. 60 John Olson Merrill Lynch New York § § 1,435 2-30 5-50 9.041

67. 69 Gregory Hurlbrink Smith Barney Baltimore § § § § 866 3-10 5-20 9.038

68. 64 David Ellis III Gradison Cincinnati § § § 1,050 1-10 2-20 9.034

69. N Ron Hughes, Jr. Merrill Lynch Atlanta § 850 20+ 40+ 9.022

70. N John Spooner Smith Barney Boston § § § 2,700 1-2 5 9.018

71. 89 Jeff Cohen Lincoln Sagemark Tarrytown, N.Y. § § 775 2.5-5.0+ 10+ 9.000

72. N Reza Zafari Merrill Lynch Century City, Calif. § § 6,500 80 100 8.996

73. N Richard Jones Merrill Lynch Century City, Calif. § § 6,500 80 100 8.996

74. 71 David A. Novelli Smith Barney Houston § § § § 1,783 5 10 8.988

75. N Chris Baldwin Credit Suisse Chicago § § 1,387 15-35 30-50+ 8.988

76. 75 Alan Leist Cadaret Grant Utica, N.Y. § § § 725 1.2 5 8.941

77. N Robert Keller JPMorgan Private Bank San Francisco § 11,000 25-150 50+ 8.930

78. 77 Peter Eckerline Merrill Lynch Wayzata, Minn. § § § 1,500 1-15 2-20 8.908

79. 76 James McCabe Wells Fargo Beverly Hills, Calif. § § § 1,100 5-50 5-100 8.902

80. N Brian Hetherington Merrill Lynch New Canaan, Conn. § § 2,700 10+ 10+ 8.892

81. 55 Thomas E. Hill Smith Barney Easton, Md. § § § 1,100 1 3-10+ 8.877

82. 82 Alan Jusko Wachovia Securities New York § § § 805 0.8-1 1 8.871

83. N Robert Scherer Smith Barney Washington, D.C. § § § § 2,350 15-500 15-500 8.867

84. 74 Mark Pollard Merrill Lynch Plainsboro, N.J. § § 1,800 2.515 3.5-20 8.861

85. N Hugh Breslin Fam Wealth Adv of Bank Am Chicago § 2,000 50+ 100 8.854

86. 80 Patricia Bell Merrill Lynch Short Hills, N.J. § § § 607 8 15 8.836

87. N R. Stephen Meyers Piper Jaffray Seattle § § 1,100 12 N/A 8.825

88. N Kurt Sylvia Wachovia Securities Palm Beach, Fla. § § § 900 3 5 8.816

89. 79 Scott Magnesen Morgan Stanley Oak Brook, Ill. § § § 1,300 0.5-2 1-5 8.813

90. N David Epstein Robert W. Baird Wilwaukee, Wis. § § § § 950 2-10 15 8.804

91. 72 Kevin Myeroff NCA/Royal Alliance Cleveland § § 787 1.5 3 8.790

92. 67 William J. Sullivan UBS Financial Svcs Boston § § 700 5 25 8.779

93. 84 Timothy Kneen Smith Barney Englewood, Colo. § § § 1,000 10 15 8.771

94. 90 Larry Boggs Wachovia Securities Cumberland, Md. § § § 687 1-3 2-5 8.758

95. 81 Ken Van Wagenen Wells Fargo Los Angeles § § § 1,160 5 15 8.745

96. N Marc White JPMorgan Private Bank Boston § § 2,600 20-30 30-50 8.741

97. N Nathan Bachrach Royal Alliance Assoc Cincinnati § § § 790 0.4-2 0.8-2 8.740

98. 88 Steve Spence UBS Financial Svcs Portland, Ore. § § § 650 1.5 6 8.738

99. 97 Kay Shirley Fin Development Sys/MSC Atlanta § § 600 0.8-1 3 8.737

100. 93 Scott Tiras Ameriprise Fin Svcs Houston § § 1,375 1-3 2-5 8.734For more information on The Winner’s Circle and the ranking methodology, go to: www.wcorg.com Source: R.J. Shook

CUSTOMERSHigh Ultra-High Total Typical Typical

Rank Individuals Net Worth Net Worth Corpor- Found- Endow- Assets Account Net Worth’06 ’05 Name Firm Location (Up to $1mil) ($1-10 mil) ($10 mil+) ations ations ments ($mil) ($mil) ($mil) Score

Top 100 Advisers Continued from Page 30

32 B A R R O N ' S April 24, 2006