Mika Koskinen & team
SEB Enskilda
After leading the lineup for two years running, SEB Enskilda slips to second place. Captained this year by Mika Koskinen, the team has 40 equity researchers — 18 fewer than last year — who will soon be merged with the firm’s ten credit analysts, Koskinen says. Working out of offices in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm, the troupe follows 310 companies across the region. Finland’s Outotec Corp., which provides technology and engineering services for the minerals and metals industry, currently ranks among the team’s favorites, thanks to its strong growth prospects and “rock solid balance sheet,” Koskinen says. The stock was trading at €42.37 in late December, and the analysts have a target price of €48. “By far, they do the best work in Scandinavia analyzing and explaining special situations,” says one Finnish investor. “They also do a very good job on such corporate events as share issues, mergers, initial public offerings and deals.” — Paul Sweeney