Benjamin Swinburne climbs from second place to top the roster for the first time; the Morgan Stanley analyst also repeats at No. 2 in Media. Swinburne, whose “forte is always asking the right questions,” according to one client, holds an MS in accounting from Babson College in Massachusetts. Before joining Morgan Stanley in 1999, he was an M&A analyst at Lucent Technologies. “The industry faces structural challenges from lack of end-market growth and escalating programming costs,” the 38-year-old reports. “Valuations are at postcrises highs, thanks to the potential for M&A and still-below-average interest rates.” Tracking ten stocks in this sector, Swinburne believes consolidation will continue to dominate the landscape, buoying multiples. “Time Warner Cable is our preferred investment recommendation in the context of U.S. cable consolidation,” he says, owing to slowing subscriber growth in the New York–based outfit’s broadband and video businesses. The researcher is constantly “thinking about the sector, with a rigorously analytical mind and an intellectually curious eye,” avers the same backer. — Pam Baker |
Babson College Pam Baker Time Warner Cable Benjamin Swinburne Morgan Stanley
