Duncan Wooldridge & team UBS

Duncan Wooldridge leads the UBS quartet up one notch back to No. 2. Wooldridge, who is headquartered in Hong Kong, is “the master of unbiased factual analysis: no hype, no fireworks, just genuine research providing the right answer,” explains one satisfied client. The team is generally upbeat, with a few caveats. “As long as Europe can find a way to muddle through and China avoids a hard landing, Asian markets could do well — especially if inflation comes down, due to weaker economic growth, and policy is eased at the margin,” Wooldridge explains. “That seems to be exactly what is unfolding.” However, he cautions that “a supply-side shock for oil remains one of the true wild cards,” citing tensions between Iran and the U.S. The economists are telling investors to focus this year on countries such as China and India, “where we expect inflation to come down,” Wooldridge says. “Growth will be weak in the first half but improve later in the year, as policy is eased at the margin instead of being tightened.” — ­Carolyn Koo