Cheong-Ga (Karl) Choi, Billy Ng & team Bank of America Merrill Lynch
The buy side says: “The team shows independence of thought and helps clients make money.”
Reclaiming the top spot after a year at runner-up is Bank of America Merrill Lynch; the foursome is led by Cheong-Ga (Karl) Choi and Billy Ng, who also co-captains the No. 2 team in Gaming & Lodging. The analysts, working out of Hong Kong and Singapore, follow 20 companies and are “intellectually savvy and commercially astute,” observes one ally. They are also cautious and prefer stocks with stable fundamentals. Examples include such Hong Kong–based concerns as the Wharf (Holdings), which operates shopping centers, and Citic Pacific, a property developer and steel manufacturer. Choi, 40, earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and joined the firm in 2008. Ng, 37, who has an MBA from the Yale School of Management, moved to BofA Merrill from J.P. Morgan in 2010. — Paul Sweeney
