Lehman Brothers Dons Brokerage Crown

It's been a banner year for brokerage stocks, but few have outshone Lehman Brothers(LEH Quote).

To date, shares of the Wall Street firm are up a robust 45%, far outpacing the 30% gain racked up this year by the Amex Broker Dealer Index. And it's no contest comparing Lehman's performance with the meager, single-digit gains posted by the three major market indices.

Look for Lehman to help set the pace in the brokerage sector when it reports fourth-quarter earnings next week, along with Bear Stearns(BSC Quote), Goldman Sachs(GS Quote) and Morgan Stanley(MWD Quote). ...