Eight firms earn at least one first-place appearance on the 2016 All-America Fixed-Income Research Team, Institutional Investor’s exclusive annual ranking of the nation’s most revered credit analysts:
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Barclays
• Citi
• CRT Capital Group
• Goldman, Sachs & Co.
• J.P. Morgan
• Morgan Stanley
• Wells Fargo Securities
BofA Merrill is home to the highest number of sector champions, with 15, followed closely by J.P. Morgan, with 14. Goldman Sachs adds the most first-place positions, three, bringing its total to eight.
Here are the top-ranked analysts and teams at each firm:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Larry Bland, Health Care (High Yield)
• Ana Goshko, Technology (HY) and Telecommunications Services (HY)
• Mark Hammond, Financials (HY)
• Hima Inguva, Health Care (Investment Grade)
• Douglas Karson, Autos & Auto Parts (HY and IG), Manufacturing (IG)
• Theresa O’Neill & team, Consumer Asset-Backed Securities Strategy
• Peter Quinn, Electric Utilities (HY and IG)
• William Reuter, Retailing (HY)
• Roger Spitz, Chemicals (HY) and Paper & Packaging (HY)
• Alan Todd & team, Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Strategy
Two industry categories were added to the ballot this year — Autos & Auto Parts (IG) and Financials (HY) — and BofA Merrill captures the top spot in both. It also loses a couple of first-place positions: James Kayler slips a notch in Gaming & Lodging (HY), and Federal Agency Debt Strategy failed to garner sufficient voter support to warrant publication. Bottom line: The firm has the same number of sector-topping appearances as last year, 15.
Barclays
• Nicholas Gendron & team, Bond Market Indexes
• Harry Mateer, Energy (IG)
• Michael Pond & team, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities
• Gary Stromberg, Energy (HY)
Barclays claimed twice as many top spots in 2015. Harry Mateer, still No. 1 in Energy (IG), dips to second place in Basic Industries (IG). Brian Monteleone and Priya Ohri-Gupta follow similar trajectories in Nonbank Financials (IG) and Retailing (IG), respectively; while Matthew Vittorioso tumbles to runner-up in Manufacturing/General Industrials (HY).
Citi
• Manish Somaiya, Manufacturing/General Industrials (HY) and Services (HY)
Manish Somaiya was responsible for Citi’s sole sector victory last year, in Services (HY). This time around he takes credit for the firm’s only two category triumphs, rising from second place in Manufacturing/General Industrials (HY).
CRT Capital Group
• David Ader and Ian Lyngen, Technical Analysis and U.S. Rates Strategy
This is the fifth year in a row that CRT Capital has topped the Technical Analysis roster and its seventh straight victory in U.S. Rates Strategy (renamed this year from U.S. Governments Strategy).
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
• S. Karl Blunden, Basic Industries (IG)
• Jeffrey Currie & team, Commodities
• Jan Hatzius & team, Economics
• Brian Jacoby, Aerospace & Defense (IG) and Transportation (IG)
• Jason Kim, Cable & Satellite (HY)
• Scott Wipperman, Technology (IG) and Telecommunications Services (IG)
Goldman Sachs dominates three more categories this time around, bringing its total to eight. Previously unranked S. Karl Blunden shoots straight in to first place in Basic Industries (IG), while Brian Jacoby and Scott Wipperman each double their victories, advancing from third place and second, respectively, in Transportation (IG) and Telecommunications Services (IG).
J.P. Morgan
• Peter Acciavatti & team, High-Yield Strategy
• Eric Beinstein & team, Investment-Grade Strategy
• Eric Beinstein, Dominique Toublan & team, Credit Derivatives
• Susan Berliner, Building (HY) and Gaming & Lodging (HY)
• Peter DeGroot & team, Municipals Strategy
• Teresa Ho, Alex Roever & team, Short-Duration Strategy
• Matthew Jozoff, Alex Roever & team, Fixed-Income Strategy
• Matthew Jozoff, Brian Ye & team, Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Strategy/Agency
• Nicholas Maciunas, Brian Ye & team, Agency-Structured Products Strategy
• Kaustub Samant, John Sim & team, Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Strategy/Nonagency
• Mark Streeter, Transportation (HY)
• Brian Ye & team, Prepayments Strategy
• Joshua Younger & team, Interest Rate Derivatives
J.P. Morgan adds one top spot — Susan Berliner advances from No. 2 in Gaming & Lodging (HY) — but two of last year’s winners slip to second place: Avi Steiner in Broadcasting & Publishing (HY) and Mark Streeter in Transportation (IG). The firm’s sector championship total declines by one, to 14.
Morgan Stanley
• Calvin Tse & team, Currency/Foreign Exchange
Long time coming: This is the first time since 2012 that Morgan Stanley tops a sector roster. Last year the Currency/Foreign Exchange crew debuted in second place.
Wells Fargo Securities
• J. Nicole Black Skinner, Media & Entertainment (IG)
• David Deterding, Metals & Mining (HY)
• Todd Duvick, Consumer Products (IG) and Retailing (IG)
• Robert Hauff, Insurance (IG)
• J. Davis Hebert, Broadcasting & Publishing (HY)
• Bryan Hunt, Food & Beverages (HY)
• M. Grant Jordan, Consumer Products (HY)
• Thierry Perrein, Real Estate Investment Trusts (IG)
• John David Preston & team, Collateralized Loan Obligations
• James Strecker, Banks (IG) and Nonbank Financials (IG)
Wells Fargo picks up two first-place finishes, for an even dozen. Although J. Nicole Black Skinner retains the top spot in Media & Entertainment (IG), she slips to second place in Telecommunications Services (IG) — but Todd Duvick and J. Davis Hebert advance from second place in Retailing (IG) and Broadcasting & Publishing (HY), respectively, and James Strecker leaps from No. 3 in Nonbank Financials (IG).
The 2016 All-America Fixed-Income Research Team reflects the opinions of nearly 1,900 portfolio managers and buy-side analysts at some 535 institutions that oversee an estimated $9.7 trillion in U.S. fixed-income assets.
