Marius Strydom,
Maciej Szczesny
& team
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
Vaulting from runner-up to second place is the seven-strong Bank of America Merrill Lynch squad co-captained this year by newcomers Maciej Szczesny, who works out of London, and Johannesburg-based Marius Strydom. The team, with analysts stationed in Russia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K., covers 52 companies and recommends financial institutions in Russia — Sberbank is a top pick — and the sub-Saharan region, particularly Nigeria, on the belief that these offer the most promising growth prospects. “We have also remained bullish on Turkish banks, as the key beneficiary of the global liquidity and falling-interest-rate environment,” says Szczesny. Türkiye Garanti Bankası is the favorite in that country. The researchers win praise for “deep knowledge and fresh views,” as one money manager puts it. — Leslie Kramer