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Bin Li & team
Morgan Stanley
First-Place Appearances: 6

Total Appearances: 6

Team Debut: 2009

Morgan Stanley continues to dominate this lineup, as it has done every year since coming out of nowhere in 2009 to debut at No. 1 under the guidance of Hong Kong–based Bin Li. The five-strong crew is hailed as knowledgeable and credited with providing “independent and logical opinions on the companies covered,” as one money manager puts it. Following 40 regional health care names from offices in Australia, Hong Kong and India, the researchers are bullish on this group, which climbed 12.7 percent over the 12 months through late April, besting the broad regional market by 8.9 percentage points. Li cautions, however, that the near term may bring some volatility, since valuations are at near-record highs. The analysts urge investors to prefer companies that possess sustainable competitive advantages based on strong R&D and distribution capabilities. Examples include Hong Kong–based CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, which manufactures antibiotics and generic drugs; Sino Biopharmaceutical, a developer of treatments for hepatitis and ophthalmia that also is headquartered in Hong Kong; and Shanghai’s WuXi PharmaTech Cayman, a biotechnology and pharma R&D outsourcing services provider. These three are “industry leaders in their respective areas,” Li says, “and will be long-term beneficiaries, in our view.” This year, Li also co-captains, with James David Evans, a runner-up squad in Small- & Midcapitalization Stocks. “Pharma is a very complex business,” acknowledges another fund manager. “Bin and his team know the companies and their products well.”