Yang (Emma) Liu
Nomura
First-place appearances: 1

Total appearances: 4

Analyst debut: 2010

Nomura’s Yang (Emma) Liu tumbles from the top spot to land in third place, the position she held in 2011. But the “strong conviction in her views,” as one investor puts it, still wins money managers’ praise. Liu favors “companies with the capability to improve margins on product-mix changes,” she says, citing Hong Kong–based China Mengniu Dairy Co., China’s largest dairy by sales, as the company best poised to do just that. Mengniu manufactures and distributes ice cream, liquid milk products, milk powder and yogurt, and its brand image had been soiled by a tainted-products scandal dating back to late 2011, when its milk goods were found to contain unsafe levels of a cancer-causing substance. The dairy acknowledged the problem and in the spring of 2012 shook up its management. That C-suite change, Liu advised money managers in January, led her to anticipate a potential turnaround for the company — and she awarded the shares an upgrade from sell all the way to buy. The stock stormed ahead 54.5 percent, to HK$34.10, through October, pacing the sector by 41.8 percentage points. Clients also credit the researcher for the frequency and timeliness of her coverage, as well as the clarity and regional scope of her reporting. — Katie Gilbert

RUNNER(S)-UP
Dongming (Jasmine) Bai
Citi

Xiaopo Wei
CLSA