David Tailleur & team
Rabobank
Rabobank tumbles from first place to third. Headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, the 11-member squad captained by David Tailleur added coverage of five companies last year, bringing its total to 99. “They provide detailed, fundamental, bottom-up analysis with a lot of aggregated data,” asserts one portfolio manager. “They do a lot more digging and more rigorous analysis on a company, while a bulge-bracket firm will hand over the assignment to a less-seasoned analyst.” The team is bullish on ING Groep, on the Amsterdam-based financial services firm’s continuing efforts to divest itself of noncore assets, particularly its insurance and investment management operations. ING also offers a “moderate risk profile,” Tailleur says, and the stock’s forward price-earnings ratio of six makes it attractively valued.
— Paul Sweeney