< The 2014 All-America Research Team

Total Appearances: 9

Analyst Debut: 2006Morgan Stanley’s Jamminder (Jimmy) Bhullar is the “hardest-working life analyst,” one supporter contends. “He’s accessible 24/7.” Little wonder then that the 37-year-old researcher records his fifth consecutive No. 1 finish on this list. Bhullar is neutral on U.S. life insurers, whose shares were flat year to date through mid-September, while the broad domestic market gained 7.3 percent. On the plus side, he notes, healthy balance sheets are spurring share repurchases and dividend increases, price competition in most product lines is rational, and many companies are derisking their business mixes by cutting their exposure to high-volatility product lines. On the minus side, however, returns on equity remain lackluster and will likely stagnate at current levels, valuations appear full, and low interest rates could drive balance-sheet charges over time, he cautions. “A majority of flows into life stocks continue to be driven by the group’s perceived leverage to higher interest rates and/or a strong equity market, not a positive investor view on fundamentals,” Bhullar adds. Against this backdrop, his favorite player is Reinsurance Group of America, thanks partly to healthy returns in the U.S. life reinsurance market and the company’s strong international growth potential. In addition, the Chesterfield, Missouri–based company’s “limited earnings-per-share exposure to interest rates and the equity market makes it a defensive stock in case of adverse macro trends,” he explains, and it trades at a discount to the sector, on both price-to-book-value and price-to-earnings bases, despite higher returns.