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Jonathon Rigby
& team
UBS
"They cover all the angles."
Vaulting from runner-up to land in the winner's circle for the first time is the UBS troupe helmed by Jonathon Rigby, 45. With ten London-based researchers following 24 companies (and another 19 in oil field services), the squad is applauded for "consistently taking the long view," as one pension manager proclaims. One example: In April 2010 the analysts upgraded Italy's Eni from neutral to buy, at €14.66, primarily on valuation. That proved premature; the shares traded sideways for the rest of that year and through 2011, but the team stood by the call. After dipping as low as €11.25 in August 2011, the stock finally started to climb and by late December had risen to €18.34, for a life-of-call gain of 25.1 percent. A valuation-based downgrade of U.K.-based Tullow Oil from buy to neutral in March, at 1,512.37p, yielded more immediate results: The stock had tumbled 17.3 percent, to 1,261p, by the end of the year. Rigby worked as an oil and gas analyst at Commerzbank before moving to UBS in 2004; he holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of London. — Ben Mattlin