Richard Edwards & team
Citi
Richard Edwards’s Citi trio, which spent the past two years in second place, slips to third. “The success of online-rollout strategies remains the core issue for the retail sector,” says Edwards, whose London-based team follows 21 companies. “Understanding the winners and losers remains key.” The analysts believe they have found a winner in Asos, an online-only fashion retailer headquartered in England. Investors should enjoy significant upside as Asos expands across the globe, “given the headroom for market-share growth from a base of less than 1 percent in the group’s most developed market, the U.K.,” he explains. Edwards “has over 15 years of experience in the sector, and it shows,” extols one buy-side backer. “His macro consumer analysis is the best in the market.”
— Katie Gilbert