Erwin Dut & team
Kempen & Co.
Repeating in second place is the Kempen & Co. crew of six captained by Erwin Dut in Amsterdam. Among the 68 companies the analysts follow (a figure that is unchanged from last year), Amsterdam’s Royal Philips Electronics is the current favorite, thanks in part to new management that is “transforming the company’s portfolio away from markets where it is uncompetitive and focusing purely on global leadership positions in health care, lighting and consumer lifestyle products,” Dut says. “We like its 35 percent revenue exposure to emerging markets. In addition, the company is rigorously reducing cost and capital, allowing for cash returns to shareholders in 2013. We see 20 percent upside in the shares on a 12-month basis.” The Kempen researchers “know the Benelux companies well and have a good feeling for proper valuations,” says one buy-side admirer. Adds another: “They have a great understanding of local companies and country dynamics.” — Paul Sweeney