Tomohiro Araki Nomura Securities Co. The buy side says: “Araki keeps investors abreast of industry trends.”

Tomohiro Araki of Nomura Securities Co. captures the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive year. “He evaluates stocks in a logical manner, and he has been a good stock picker,” insists one money manager. Two calls last summer — one bullish, one bearish — proved prescient. In July the 35-year-old analyst upgraded Tokyo-­based Nomura Real Estate Residential Fund from neutral to buy, at ¥343,500, because “I appreciated their cash flow stability and cheap valuation,” he explains. The following month, Araki downgraded Japan Excellent from buy to neutral, at ¥406,000, on worries about further deterioration of the office-­leasing business at the real estate investment trust, which is headquartered in Tokyo. By the end of February, Nomura Real Estate’s shares had shot up 37.1 percent, to ¥471,000 — 17.9 percentage points ahead of the sector; although shares of Japan Excellent rose to ¥482,500, they lagged the sector by 2 percentage points since Araki’s downgrade. “I like how he provides the whole deal — not just coverage on REITs, but he pays visits to other companies of interest in real estate,” marvels one ­investor. Adds another: “Araki-­san’s research is very deep and very thorough, and he offers a unique perspective on the sector.”

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