Words of advice widely attributed to Horace Greeley — “Go west, young man” — no longer seem to apply. The Eastern hemisphere is where the investment action is: Chinese banks and insurance companies are now the world’s largest (in terms of market capitalization), and Hong Kong has surpassed both London and New York as the capital of IPO activity. “Asian Financiers Flex Their Muscles” unveils the results of Institutional Investor’s new Captains of Asian Finance survey, which ranks the financial executives whom buy- and sell-side analysts consider the best in their respective businesses.

Russia straddles both East and West, of course, but economically it’s acting more like the former than the latter. In the 12 months through mid-­April, the benchmark Russian Trading System index surged more than 100 percent. It stumbled along with other markets over concerns that the debt crisis in Greece would spread, but many economists and market observers believe the downturn is only temporary. “Russia: New Safe Haven for Investors” introduces the members of the 2010 All-­Russia Research Team, our exclusive ranking of the analysts that investors deem the best guides to this dynamic market.