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Young-Ah Han,
Chen Luo
& team
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
"Their investment ideas are timely. They have the ability to identify stocks that are mispriced by the market."
Claiming first-place honors for a third year running is Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The 15-strong squad — co-captained by newcomer Young-Ah Han, 42, and Chen Luo, 36 — reports on more than 100 stocks, a dramatic increase over last year’s 60, and plans to add to that total this year. China’s Intime Department Store Group Co. remains a team favorite. First recommended back in August 2010 and highlighted most recently in June, at HK$7.06, primarily on the strength of the retailer’s balance sheet and sales growth, the stock had jumped to HK$9.20 by the end of April, for a 30.3 percent advance that outpaced the consumer discretionary sector by 21.9 percentage points. Hong Kong–based Luo “is one of the very few analysts in the Street who gives an unbiased view and is sensitive to the changes on the ground in China,” applauds one investor. Han, who is headquartered in Seoul, earned a bachelor’s degree at that city’s Ewha Womans University College of Business Administration and an MBA at its Sogang University; she joined Merrill Lynch in 2005 from Samsung Economic Research Institute. — Katie Gilbert