Benedict Uglow & team
Morgan Stanley
The Morgan Stanley quintet under Benedict Uglow, which spent the past three years in the runner-up position, advances to third place. With a growing roster of stocks under coverage — currently numbering 19 — the London-based troupe is hailed for “excellent industry insights and stock selections,” as one fund manager in the Nordic region puts it. For 2013 one of their key selections is France’s Alstom, upgraded from equal weight to overweight back in January 2011, at €33.35, largely on valuation. That proved premature — the stock plunged to €22.66 by the end of that year — but the analysts stood by the call and the shares rallied, surging 33 percent, to €30.14, and beating the sector by 17 percentage points in 2012. They continue to recommend Alstom, citing strong cash generation and improving order trends for the designer and manufacturer of components for coal, gas and hydroelectric power generators.
— Ben Mattlin