Harunobu Goroh Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co.

For a third year running, Harunobu Goroh of Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. takes second place. Goroh wins points for “detailed, precise earnings analyses,” as one portfolio manager puts it. In March 2011 he initiated coverage of small-cap Yamato Kogyo Co. with an overweight rating, at ¥2,563, dubbing the producer of steel girders superior to other Japanese steelmakers partly because its plants in Bahrain, Thailand and the U.S. are located near areas that had high demand. At the end of February, the Hyogo-based company’s share price was largely unchanged, at ¥2,558, while the sector was down 20.8 percent. “He is always objective and eager to help,” cheers another patron.  — Ben Mattlin