Suresh Ganapathy
Macquarie Capital Securities
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 3

Analyst debut: 2011

In third place, down one rung from No. 2, is Suresh Ganapathy of Macquarie Capital Securities, who describes himself as “very bearish on financials, on account of significant asset-quality concerns.” Ganapathy is advising clients to remain underweight on the sector — which slumped 15.7 percent year to date through mid-October, lagging the S&P BSE Sensex Index by 21.5 percentage points — and to avoid public sector banks and those focused on servicing corporations in particular. In February he issued a sell call on LIC Housing Finance, a Mumbai-based mortgage lender, citing its poor asset-liability management and the margin pressures that had resulted. Through mid-October the share price dropped 17.7 percent, to 201.30 rupees, against a sector decline of 12.7 percent. “I like his dedication to informing investors of the most current thinking by managements, credit rating agencies, investors and policymakers,” avers one fund manager. “This coupled with solid analysis on the fundamentals of Indian financials make Suresh a highly valued resource.” — Katie Gilbert