Daniel Garrod & team
Barclays
Unranked last year, the London-based Barclays duo directed by Daniel Garrod captures third place. “Regulatory reform in the U.K. from the [Retail Distribution Review program] is likely to shake up distribution models, with platforms representing an increasing share versus advisers,” says Garrod, whose team reports on a dozen stocks. “Likely consequences of the RDR are increased flows into passive products and increased price transparency imposing revenue margin pressures for the producers.” Asset managers with strong performance track records and brands — such as Aberdeen Asset Management and Jupiter Fund Management, both of which are headquartered in the U.K. — offer the greatest protection against such threats, he says, and thus are among the team’s recommendations for 2013. “The quality of the reports they write about the sector is exceptional,” says one Lisbon-based buy-sider.
— Leslie Kramer