Kenny Lau & team
Credit Suisse
First-place appearances: 2

Total appearances: 11

Team debut: 2002

Credit Suisse’s Kenny Lau and his nine-analyst, Hong Kong–based group claim second place for a fourth consecutive year, in part because they are “typically ahead of the market and always have the bigger cycle in mind,” as one investor puts it. “They combine macro research with the cycle and individual stock performance — if you follow their advice, more often than not you’ll make money.” In November the squad identified their five favorite non-Japanese Asian small caps for 2014, citing the “balance among their business outlook, financial strength, valuation, market cap and trading liquidity,” reports Lau. Good call: four of the group outperformed the sector’s 3.8 percent rise through late April. Indian diversified financial services company Jammu and Kashmir Bank rocketed 49.9 percent, to 1,768.40 rupees; Hong Kong–based Varitronix International, a design and electronics manufacturing concern, climbed 17.9 percent, to HK$8.62; real estate developer and property manager AP Thailand jumped 15.5 percent, to 5.75 baht; and Sinopec Kantons Holdings, a Hong Kong–based petroleum trader, climbed 13.9 percent, to HK$7.93. The lone holdout has been Electronic City Indonesia, a retailer of home appliances, Internet technologies and office equipment, whose shares tumbled 31.3 percent, to 2,250 rupiah. The researchers remain bullish, however, citing Electronic City’s potential for robust growth despite a slowdown in the Indonesian economy, largely on the prospects for its aggressive store-expansion program. Now at 50 outlets, and 42 percent market share, the merchandiser intends to add 40 stores over the next two years. Their target price on the stock is 4,500 rupiah.