SECOND TEAM

Jiro Iokibe Daiwa Securities Group

Jiro Iokibe of Daiwa Securities Group rises one rung to second place, thanks in part to what one investor calls his “accurate earnings estimates.” In September, Iokibe upgraded Mitsubishi Corp. to buy, dubbing shares of the Tokyo-based conglomerate a bargain at ¥1,892, after the stock had tumbled more than 18 percent since April. He pounded the table in late October when the company announced that it would raise its dividend from ¥52 per share to ¥56. By the end of February, Mitsubishi’s stock had surged to ¥2,261, an enviable 19.5 percent gain that nonetheless lagged the sector by 5.8 percentage points.

Polling and tabulation of data as well as reporting on the sector profiles were completed before the March 11 Tohoku earthquake.