Julien Garran & team
UBS
Unranked last year, UBS’s team of five under newcomer Julien Garran shoots straight in to third place. The London-based analysts track 19 stocks. In early October they upgraded Anglo-Swiss mining giants Xstrata and Glencore International from neutral to buy, on the companies’ plans to merge. The combined entity would have a solid commodities mix and operational leverage to benefit from growing demand, the researchers believed. By the end of the year, Xstrata shares had gained 9.6 percent, advancing from 966.60p to 1,059p, and Glencore’s had risen 3.9 percent, from 338p to 351.30p; the team continues to recommend both. (The deal is expected to close in March.) Garran’s “depth of analysis into the macro forces driving equity prices is unparalleled,” marvels one U.S.-based portfolio manager.
— Ben Mattlin