Frank Li & team J.P. Morgan

After taking top honors every year that the sector has appeared since 2006 (it did not receive enough votes to warrant publication in 2009), J.P. Morgan’s six-member crew captained by Frank Li falls to second place; Li also pilots the No. 2 team in Industrials and a runner-up team covering China. The analysts, who cover some 30 automakers across Asia, “are positive on those companies with good exposure to the luxury car segment, which offers better risk-reward because of luxury cars’ low penetration rate in China and the powerful consumption upgrade trend in China,” Li explains. Among the stocks the researchers are recommending is Mumbai-based Tata Motors, maker of the Jaguar Land Rover’s Evoque. Sales have been brisk since the luxury sport utility vehicle was introduced, last fall, and the analysts believe that trend will continue. Li “is an authority on the auto sector in China, and his broader understanding helps put the sector in its relevant political and macro context,” marvels one backer. — Paul Sweeney