< The 2015 All-Japan Research Team

Total appearances: 11

Team debut: 1997

At No. 3 is Yoshio Ando, who returns to this lineup after a two-year absence. Now with Daiwa Securities Group, the 52-year-old analyst tracks 12 Japanese telecommunications companies. He holds a neutral outlook on the sector. “Competition for acquiring customers via discounts will largely play out within two years,” he explains. “As far as progress with mobile–[fiber-to-the-home] bundled sales in the transitional period, earnings will likely be sluggish in the first half, with positives emerging with selling costs falling in the second half.” Major themes that will shape the space during this time of change, the researcher adds, will include “shifting to fixed-mobile convergence, the foray into nontelecom industries, overseas investments, shareholder payouts and the potential for new operations.” His top pick for the first phase of the shift to bundled sales is Tokyo’s KDDI Corp. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., which also is headquartered in the nation’s capital, is his favorite name for the second phase, “in anticipation of improving earnings in its regional telecom services,” says Ando.