Sean Holmes,
Natalia Smirnova
& team
Deutsche Bank
Newcomer Sean Holmes joins Natalia Smirnova in leading the Deutsche Bank team to third place, down one notch from second; this crew also claims a runner-up spot in Consumer/Discretionary. With five analysts working out of Russia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the group is “quite positive on the Russian retail space,” according to Smirnova. In July the researchers designated Dixy Group a top pick, at 325 rubles, on the Russian convenience store and supermarket operator’s strong growth prospects. The stock had soared to 467.82 rubles by the end of May, for a 43.9 percent advance that trumped the sector by 10.9 percentage points, and they remain bullish — but with a note of caution. “One of the main risks for Russian retail is a slowdown in growth of real disposable incomes,” she says, owing to that country’s high inflation. — Pam Baker