Research

The All-America Fixed-Income Research Team

Ranking Overview Methodology

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has extended its winning streak as No. 1 in Institutional Investor’s All-America Fixed-Income Research Team ranking for an eighth straight year.

Bank of America Corp. earned second place, while Wells Fargo & Co. took third and Barclays came in fourth, with each firm keeping the same position held in 2016. Citigroup, meanwhile, rose one level higher to fifth place and Goldman Sachs Group fell two places to six, after tying for fourth last year with Barclays. Rounding out the rankings are Morgan Stanley at No. 7, Deutsche Bank at No 8 in a tie with Nomura Holdings, and Stifel Financial Corp. in tenth place.

To select members of the 26th annual All-America Fixed-Income Research Team, II sent questionnaires to bond and credit specialists at asset management firms around the world, receiving responses from more than 1,800 portfolio managers and buy-side analysts at 510 institutions. Voters ranked firms in three major categories: high yield, investment grade, and economics and strategy. While they were asked to vote for individual analysts in high yield and investment grade, they could vote for either an individual or a firm’s entire team in the economics and strategy category.

FIRT Methodology

Picking the Team

To select the members of the 26th annual All-America Fixed-Income Research Team, Institutional Investor sent questionnaires to bond and credit specialists at leading asset management firms around the world. We received responses from over 1800 portfolio managers and buy-side analysts at some 510 institutions that oversee an estimated $9.9 trillion in U.S. fixed-income assets.

In High Yield and Investment Grade sectors, respondents vote for individual analysts. In Economics & Strategy categories, they may vote for an individual or for a firm’s entire team; these votes are combined for firms in each sector.

A numerical score was produced for each qualifying entity by weighting each vote based on the fund manager’s U.S. fixed-income assets under management and on the rank awarded (first, second, third or fourth). Analysts or teams were designated runners-up when their scores fell within 35 percent of the third-teamer’s score.

Research directors indicate which analysts oversee coverage of a particular sector, and individuals cited as team leaders may not necessarily be the ones who received the most votes on behalf of that firm. Co-leaders, where applicable, are deemed to share equal responsibility for directing coverage, and their names are presented alphabetically. Analysts who switched firms after June 5, 2017, are cited at their previous organizations.

Analysts must be certified pursuant to Regulation AC to be recognized in the High-Yield and Investment-Grade research categories. No such restriction applies in Economics & Strategy sectors.

The names of those surveyed and the institutions they work for are kept confidential to ensure their continuing cooperation. Voters must meet eligibility requirements, and winners must achieve a minimum vote count. All ballots are subject to review by our Research Operations Group, and final results may be inspected by an independent auditor.

We polled 20 high-yield and 17 investment-grade research sectors, all of which fielded complete teams (first through third places).

In Economics & Strategy we asked about 24 sectors. Federal Agency Debt Strategies did not garner sufficient votes for publication.

The 2017 All-America Fixed-Income Research Team was compiled by Associate Research Editor Denise Hoguet, with the assistance of Researcher Xiao Lu, under the direction of Senior Research Editor Tucker Ewing.

To view the full rankings, subscribe now. Already a subscriber? login.