Economics & Strategy – CEEMEA Equity Strategy: Second

J.P. Morgan leaps from runner-up to second place under the direction of David Aserkoff, who is headquartered in London and coordinates with strategists based in Russia and South Africa. “He’s made some good calls over the last few months, especially being bearish on commodities and materials in Russia and elsewhere,” attests one buy-side supporter. “He foresaw prices collapsing on gold, copper and oil — and that’s really been the story this year in emerging markets.” Each week the team publishes a list of the ten stocks the strategists prefer. In May that roster included names from multiple sectors across the region: in Poland mining outfit KGHM Polska Miedz; in Russia supermarket operator Magnit and financial services behemoth Sberbank; in South Africa drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare Holdings and media conglomerate Naspers; in Turkey industrial conglomerate Koç Holding, cellular services provider Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri, state-owned Türkiye Halk Bankası, and commercial and retail lender Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası; and in the United Arab Emirates, real estate developer Emaar Properties. — Paul Sweeney