Richard Chamberlain & team, BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research

Rising from runner-up to the third tier is the BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research trio directed by newcomer Richard Chamberlain. (Former team leader John Kershaw manages the No. 2 troupe in Retailing/Food & Drug Chains.) The London-based analysts are telling investors to keep an eye on apparel stocks this year. “Valuations are now more favorable, we expect inflation pressures to ease, and the sourcing environment has improved,” Chamberlain explains. The group’s favorite among those names is Swedish clothing retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz, which Chamberlain calls “a proven recession winner in fragmented clothing markets.” It’s this type of “very helpful research,” one client contends, that makes the team so valuable.