Mark Troman & team BofA Merrill Lynch
second team Andreas Willi & team J.P. Morgan
third team Carl Frederic Stahl & team UBS
Mark Troman, 39, who leads the BofA trio back to the top after a year in second place, “was the first and only one to take a positive stance in January, which was the right call,” recalls one happy client. The team’s top performers of 2009 include British beverage-dispensing-machine manufacturer IMI, recommended two weeks into the new year for its strong balance sheet, among other factors. Through December, IMI shares surged a heart-stopping 89.4 percent, from 273.75p to 518.50p, and outperformed the sector by 47.2 percentage points.
Slipping one rung to second place is J.P. Morgan’s “outstandingly productive and thought-provoking” duo under the direction of Andreas Willi. In July the analysts upgraded France’s Schneider Electric from neutral to overweight, at €60.22, on its pricing power and emerging-markets exposure. Shares of the electricity-control-equipment supplier jumped 35.8 percent through December, to €81.78, surpassing the sector’s gain by 20.7 points. “Andreas is the benchmark against which other analysts in the sector should be measured,” asserts one ally.
Carl Frederic Stahl guides the seven-strong UBS team to a second straight third-place finish. The Stockholm-based squad urged clients to buy Schneider some four months earlier and €15 cheaper than the team at No. 2. From the UBS team’s valuation-based buy recommendation in March through December 31, the stock catapulted 90.2 percent. “They are precise, clear and correct — top quality all the way,” applauds one grateful investor.
To go back to the index page, click on the Best European Analysts of the Year: 2010 All-Europe Research Team.
To read the article, click on: Reversal of Fortunes: The 2010 All-Europe Research Team.
Click here to access the complete rankings of the 2010 All-Europe Research Team.
