SECOND TEAM

Masatoshi Kikuchi BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research

Although he slips one notch to second place, Masatoshi Kikuchi continues to impress clients with work that is “original and unique — most strategists just tell creative stories with all-too-common charts and tables and pitch ideas, but Kikuchi-san’s work is based on his own consistent efforts,” observes one investor. In January 2010 the BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research strategist urged clients to invest in export companies, on the belief that demand for Japanese products would continue to rise, particularly in China. Total Japanese exports rose 24.4 percent year-over-year in 2010, but exports to China surged more than 27.8 percent, to ¥13.09 trillion ($1.6 billion).

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