Daniel FordBarclaysDaniel Ford topped the roster for the past five years. This year he comes in at No. 2 but continues to astound investors with his “ability to provide a real-time perspective on operations, management thinking and regulatory nuance,” as one buy-side backer puts it. The Barclays analyst is positive on regulated utilities, noting that they “best correlate on valuation as a fixed-income substitute,” with dividend yields currently enjoying an 11 percent advantage over double-A-rated corporate bond yields. He also points out that utilities have outperformed in the three to six months leading up to 15 of the 19 last presidential elections and tend to do even better when the contests are perceived to be close. There’s “a pretty visible and transparent growth picture for the next five years,” Ford says, because several policy-driven mandates have increased capital expenditures, which drive growth for regulated companies — although a Mitt Romney victory could stretch out the time line for utilities to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mandates. His recommendations include American Electric Power Co. of Columbus, Ohio; Edison International of Rosemead, California; and Springfield, Massachusetts–based Northeast Utilities.