Jeffrey Spector
& team
Bank of America Merrill Lynchl
First-place appearances: 5

Total appearances: 18

Team debut: 1974

Jeffrey Spector and his eight-strong troupe at Bank of America Merrill Lynch advance to third place after three years in the runner-up spot. “This is the deepest team on the Street,” applauds one loyalist. “It’s highly responsive, with an in-depth understanding of the sectors and stocks it covers.” As the improving U.S. economy prompts investors to take more risks and seek out more cyclically sensitive and global stocks, real estate investment trusts are likely to underperform the broader market, the analysts advise, but REITs could still deliver positive returns on better-than-expected earnings and strong dividend growth. The team is urging investors to buy names that can outperform regardless of whether the economy rallies, citing in particular Denver-based DCT Industrial Trust and Glendale, California–based Public Storage. DCT is benefiting from stronger U.S. warehouse market conditions; more exposure than its peers to hot housing markets; and an occupancy rate that has the furthest to go, relative to competitors, to return to its fourth-quarter 2007 peak. As for Public Storage, the self-storage REIT is enjoying a boost to earnings, thanks to peak occupancy rates that give the company continued pricing power, as well as a growing development pipeline and increased acquisition opportunities, among other factors. — Carolyn Koo