SECOND TEAM

Kota Yuzawa Goldman Sachs Japan Co.

Kota Yuzawa of Goldman Sachs Japan Co., who repeats in second place, receives high marks from one backer for his “solid earnings modeling,” but gets mixed reviews for his stock picking. Yuzawa upgraded Yokohama-based Nissan Motor Co. from neutral to buy in June, at ¥668, on its diversified sales base. The stock had zipped 25 percent, to ¥835, by the end of February and bested the sector by 5.2 percentage points. However, another June call didn’t work out so well. Yuzawa downgraded Tokyo’s Fuji Heavy Industries from buy to neutral, at ¥556, largely on valuation, but by the end of February shares of the Subaru maker had climbed 26.1 percent, to ¥701. Nonetheless, “he’s a hardworking rising star,” insists one devotee.

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