Hirosuke Tai Daiwa Securities Group
The buy side says: “Strong industry knowledge, good management access.”
After four years at No. 2, Hirosuke Tai makes his first appearance in the winner’s circle. Fans praise the Daiwa Securities Group analyst for his “extremely broad coverage universe” — Tai tracks 40 stocks; he’s also a runner-up in Machinery — and his “top-notch access to management.” Critics, however, charge that “his recommendations have been poor,” as one investor puts it. A November downgrade of Kanagawa’s JGC Corp. from outperform to neutral, at ¥1,980, on its disappointing quarterly order flow, garners mixed reviews. Shares of the power plant builder had plunged 10.5 percent by mid-December, to ¥1,773, but rallied to ¥2,353 by late February. Looking ahead, the 40-year-old analyst is bullish on Kawasaki Heavy Industries because of the Kobe- and Tokyo-based vehicle maker’s high exposure to Chinese markets. Tai joined Daiwa in 1995 after earning a bachelor’s degree in commercial science from Tokyo’s Waseda University. — Ben Mattlin
