< The 2015 All-Europe Research Team
Gunnar Cohrs & team
Berenberg
First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 6
Team debut: 2007
Berenberg’s group of seven analysts and two economists captained by Gunnar Cohrs claims second-place honors, matching the firm’s best performance to date. The squad, which finished at runner-up the past two years, works out of London and is part of a broader European crew of 75 researchers. Altogether, Berenberg’s researchers provide reporting on 123 German stocks. “They frequently have different viewpoints from the larger firms — they’re very independent,” remarks one client. “Their financials team had a gloomier outlook, and they’ve been right over the past year. They also take their time and publish very thick, thought-leadership pieces. I always look at them, often from cover-to-cover.” Since last summer, Cohrs and his colleagues have been touting Germany private equity firm Aurelius. Their view is that superior management will sustain Aurelius’s 82 percent compound annual growth rate going back to 2006, thereby creating value and reaping rewards that more than justify acquisition and restructuring expenses. “Aurelius has managed to turn around acquired companies at a lower cost and usually faster than was anticipated by the seller,” says Cohrs, 46. Those efforts do not appear to be letting up: At the end of September, the firm had cash reserves of €368 million ($459 million), of which some €200 million “is sitting at the ‘holding level’ and is available for further acquisitions,” he adds. His group sees substantial upside for the share price, which ended January at €35.49; they forecast a rise to €39.50.
