Chia Ao (William) Lu & team
Morgan Stanley
Chia Ao (William) Lu leads the Morgan Stanley foursome from runner-up to third place. From offices in Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei, the researchers follow 26 stocks. They receive plaudits from one ally for their “long-term view, thoughtful financial analyses and genuine conviction.” Lu says the group has done a lot of work to identify companies that can benefit from the significant growth in adoption of smart devices, given the clear divergence between semiconductor manufacturers that focus on personal computers and those that cater to smartphones and tablets. “The key debates for the next few years will be on the shift in demand from developed markets to emerging markets and what that means for semiconductor companies — and also what happens to the high end of the market,” he explains. Declining to name any of the team’s specific stock recommendations, Lu projects that one significant growth opportunity will be in the low-end, emerging smartphone business, since penetration rates in China, India and southeast Asia are still weak. — Carolyn Koo