Sandeep Deshpande & team, J.P. Morgan Cazenove

The buy side says: “He is always several steps ahead of everyone else.”

The J.P. Morgan Cazenove duo led by Sandeep ­Deshpande, 41, rules the roost for a third year running. Investors cite Deshpande’s experience — from his work in the semiconductor industry in the U.S. to his coverage of the sector in Asia and Europe — in praising his “outstanding global perspective on a very global industry,” in the words of one portfolio manager. The London-­based analysts added coverage of hardware technology companies last year, picking up six more stocks, for a total of ten. "Within semiconductors, semiconductor capital equipment is the better place to be in 2012, on the back of strong spending from semiconductor companies with strong balance sheets," says Deshpande. "This spending is not necessarily dependent on robust end demand but on the intention of these companies to expand capacity and take share." Among the outfits likely to benefit from this spending: the Netherlands' ASML Holding, which the analysts have designated a top pick for the year.