Robert Clifford & team
Deutsche Bank
Down one rung to second place is Deutsche Bank’s three-member crew directed by Robert Clifford in London. The analysts monitor 27 stocks, one more than a year ago, with “unmatched diligence and attention to detail,” as one buy-side counterpart puts it. For 2013 the team believes that commodities prices will be “range bound,” Clifford says, and recommends backing companies with the best managements. Examples include BHP Billiton, a diversified natural-resources concern dually headquartered in Australia and the U.K., and Randgold Resources, an exploration and mining company based in the Channel Islands. — Ben Mattlin