< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team

Total appearances: 10

Team debut: 2001A runner-up last year, Morgan Stanley returns to the No. 3 spot it held in 2013 under Richard Ji, who left the firm that March to co-found All-Stars Investment technology fund. This year newcomer Hailing (George) Meng joins Philip Wan in directing the ten-member crew, whose members work from offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Seoul and Sydney. “They have a deep understanding of the industry and keep abreast of the latest developments,” reports one backer. “Their tours and conferences are also very helpful in keeping track of the latest trends.” The Internet continues to be a high-growth area across Asia, and “China is the largest market now and will remain so for the foreseeable future,” according to Meng, 32. In addition, operators there are increasingly focusing on online-to-offline business as the mobile Internet penetrates further into lower-tier cities and rural areas. As a result, the team favors companies with reasonable stock valuations whose management teams have invested heavily in mobile businesses and weathered significant competition. Wan, 36, earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Indiana University and an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He worked as a financial analyst at Hong Kong–based health care company Interpharma Asia Pacific before starting at Morgan Stanley in 2007. Meng joined the firm last year, after covering the China Internet space at Macquarie Capital Securities and Nomura. He graduated from China’s Southeast University with a bachelor’s degree in information engineering and from HKUST with a master of philosophy degree in communications engineering. Separately, the leaders have decided to leave Morgan Stanley. Wan departs this month; Meng, in July.