Jamie Rollo & team Morgan Stanley
second team Ian Rennardson & team BofA Merrill Lynch
third team Simon Champion & team Deutsche
Jamie Rollo’s Morgan Stanley quintet defends the title, for a sixth consecutive win. Money managers appreciate the team’s “frequent comments, rich in useful details” and “exceptional call on Compass Group.” Rollo, 37, and his associates upgraded the U.K.-based global food services operator to overweight in April, at 311p, on improving margins. The stock zoomed to 455.80p through December, a 46.6 percent gain that was nearly double the sector’s 23.9 percent advance.
The three-member BofA team led by Ian Rennardson jumps from runner-up to second place. Investors laud the researchers for “lively, honest arguments” and “refreshing contrarian views.” In May the team advised clients to sell Ladbrokes, deeming the U.K.-based gaming company’s shares overvalued at 207.50p. The stock had tumbled 37.9 percent, to 128.90p, by mid-November, prompting the analysts to reverse course and issue a valuation-driven upgrade to buy. The share price had climbed back 6.7 percent, to 137.50p, by December 31.
After three years in second place, the seven-analyst Deutsche team captained by Simon Champion falls to third, but the analysts remain “consistently strong performers,” as one buy-sider puts it. One example: The team urged investors to buy Whitbread in late December 2008, calling shares of the U.K.-based hospitality company a bargain at a split-adjusted 884.46p. The stock had shot to 1,411p by the end of 2009, a gain of 59.5 percent that outperformed the sector by a stunning 46.6 percentage points.
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