Anirudha Dutta & team CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets

Slipping to second place is CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets’ 21-strong squad under newcomer Anirudha Dutta. With a coverage universe of some 131 names and growing, the Mumbai-based team wins high marks for staying “attentive to fundamentals and not just valuations,” as one client puts it. For example, in May 2011 the analysts downgraded midcap Pantaloon Retail India from outperform all the way to underperform, at 239.76 rupees, on the Mumbai-based shopping chain’s inventory buildup, deteriorating balance sheet and declining sales growth. The stock plunged 36.2 percent, to Rs153.05, and trailed India’s broad market by 30.5 percentage points, through March. Top buys for this year include Mumbai’s ICICI Bank, which the team has dubbed a well-capitalized lender in a high-growth sector. — Ben Mattlin