< The 2016 All-Asia Research Team
Sean Gardiner, Nicholas Lord & team
Morgan Stanley
First-Place Appearances: 1
Total Appearances: 4
Team Debut: 2002
In its first trip to this winner’s circle, Morgan Stanley fields a team of ten Singapore-based analysts under the direction of Nicholas Lord and Sean Gardiner. These two newcomers assumed leadership from Hozefa Topiwalla, who piloted the group to No. 2 last year and now serves in a management function for the firm. The researchers “make accurate recommendations substantiated with well-reasoned arguments,” remarks one buy-side constituent, citing as an example their reporting on CapitaLand Mall Trust. A retail real estate investment trust, CapitaLand enjoys resilient rental income and a high dividend yield, the squad noted in September 2014, when it hiked its rating on the name from equal weight to overweight. Through late last month it had climbed 7.2 percent, to 2.08 Singapore dollars, outperforming its domestic peers by 18 percentage points. Of the 35 stocks under coverage, the property developer and hotel manager City Developments is a favorite going forward. Upgraded from equal weight to overweight in March, on valuation, the shares had climbed 9.1 percent, to S$8.97, by late last month, against Singapore’s broad market gain of 2.1 percent. The analysts believe that a price of S$10 is justified. “They are energetic, eager to engage and willing to share models,” marvels another investor. Both Gardiner and Lord have been with Morgan Stanley since 2000, signing on in January and August, respectively. Lord holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and parliamentary studies from the U.K.’s University of Leeds and a master’s of philosophy degree in European studies from the University of Cambridge in England. Gardiner also co-manages the top-ranked squad covering Indonesia, with Mulya Chandra; the third-place crew on the Malaysia roster, with Navin Killa; and a runner-up team on the Thailand roster, with Mayank Maheshwari.
