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Andrew Kligerman | Andrew Kligerman UBS SECOND TEAM Colin Devine Citi THIRD TEAM Jamminder (Jimmy) Bhullar JPMorgan RUNNERS-UP Suneet Kamath Sanford C. Bernstein ; Edward Spehar Merrill Lynch |
Andrew Kligerman, 45, takes the top spot for a third year running. Investors say the UBS analyst displays a “thorough understanding of the intricacies of the global life insurance industry” and provides “solid stock picking,” with several citing his coverage of Aflac in particular. In April, Kligerman downgraded the Columbus, Georgia–based insurer — a long-standing favorite — to neutral, at $66.29, on the belief that the stock was fully valued and the company might stumble in the second quarter. It did, reporting a 5 percent decline in Japanese sales. Aflac’s share price had tumbled to $58.60 by mid-September, falling 11.6 percent in a period when the sector lost 7.3 percent. At No. 2 for a third straight year is Colin Devine of Citi, who “truly understands the complex balance sheets and products of the life insurance companies,” says one buy-side backer. In January, Devine reiterated his buy on Unum Group, first recommended way back in 2003, telling investors that the Chattanooga, Tennessee–based outfit “had put its problems squarely behind it and was poised to generate above-average earnings growth.” The stock had risen 11.1 percent through mid-September. Jamminder (Jimmy) Bhullar repeats in third. The JPMorgan Securities analyst highlighted his neutral stance on Conseco last October, at $15.79, because although “most of the Street viewed it as a cheap stock with turnaround potential, I felt the fundamentals were not that positive,” he says. Shares of the Carmel, Indiana–based insurer had plunged 46.9 percent, to $8.39, by mid-September. Bhullar “gets better every year and continues to impress in a very low-key way,” says one admirer.
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