< The 2014 All-Japan Research Team

Satoru Kikuchi & team
SMBC Nikko Securities
First-place appearances: 4

Total appearances: 9

Team debut: 2006

After two years on top, Satoru Kikuchi slips to second place. The analyst decamped Deutsche Securities in 2013 for SMBC Nikko Securities, where he now covers 12 Japanese business software names. He continues to maintain a very positive stance on this sector, forecasting strong information technology demand from a range of client groups, including small and medium-size enterprises, industrial operators, financial services firms and government entities. NTT Data Corp., a Tokyo-based systems-integration and IT services provider, is among Kikuchi’s recommended names. The company “can recover with large projects from the public sector,” he advises. Another favorite is Tokyo’s Otsuka Corp., an information-systems and software provider that Kikuchi forecasts “should grow with increasing demand from SME IT spending supported by tax credits for [capital expenditures].” Investors praise the analyst for what one supporter characterizes as his “strong and reliable analytical skills.”