Pradeep Mohinani & team
Nomura
Despite dropping from first place to third in the sector, whose name is changed from Fixed-Income Strategy, the seven-member Nomura team continues to impress investors by focusing on “actionable trading ideas rather than just maintenance research,” as one money manager puts it. Guided by newcomer Pradeep Mohinani, who is headquartered in Hong Kong, the strategists anticipate a choppy year ahead because of slippery macro fundamentals and weakening earnings. “However, with consistent inflows into Asian credit — though to some extent offset by the heavy bond issuance — we still expect spreads to tighten, driven by low default rates,” Mohinani contends. Global investment in the region is having “a distortive impact on asset prices,” especially property prices in Jakarta and Manila, he adds, and that helps keep the cost of financing at favorable levels in a number of markets. — Pam Baker