< The 2015 All-Japan Research Team

Total appearances: 11

Team debut: 1999

After a two-year absence, Mizuho Securities Group’s Yoshihiro Hashimoto returns to this roster in third place, the position he most recently earned in 2011, on behalf of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Hashimoto is very knowledgeable about important minutia,” asserts one fund manager. In addition, his positioning on Iida Group Holdings Co. also wins enthusiastic client praise. Hashimoto began reporting on the diversified, Tokyo-based homebuilder in October, assigning it a buy rating largely because he deemed Iida a likely beneficiary of a government stimulus package. The stock had by late March rewarded his confidence, advancing 34.3 percent, to ¥1,497, and outperforming the domestic sector by 6.7 percentage points. Going forward, another favorite among the 17 Japanese housing and real estate names in his portfolio is Tokyo’s Mitsui Fudosan Co. A major property owner and developer, Mitsui Fudosan possesses an impressive “potential acquisition and developments pipeline,” says Hashimoto, 49. The shares closed at ¥3,587.50 late last month, and he believes that a price of ¥4,000 is justified.