Ridham Desai
Morgan Stanley
First-place appearances: 2

Total appearances: 3

Analyst debut: 2011

Although he drops to third place after two years in first, Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley earns praise for what one money manager terms his “consistent framework and clarity of thought.” Desai points out that the Indian market is grappling with a host of major issues, including a current-account deficit that widened to $21.8 billion, or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product, in the quarter through June, and that has become increasingly expensive to fund as U.S. bond yields have risen. Furthermore, he cites general elections next year that could have an impact on investment productivity, for good or ill, and the government’s quest to improve its balance of payments via higher real interest rates and public savings despite challenges from the growth and election cycles. The strategist forecasts that broad-market earnings expansion may slow this fiscal year, which ends in March, before posting a mild recovery in the next year, and further advises that domestic liquidity “should be watched carefully as a real-time indicator of inflation expectations.” He counsels investors to “focus on picking stocks based on quality and on growth over value,” and believes “the choice between defensives and cyclicals needs to be more stock-specific, given the macro underpinnings.” — Carolyn Koo