< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team

2014-03-tom-johnson-all-europe-research-team-kartik-swaminathan.jpg
Kartikeyan Swaminathan & team
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
First-Place Appearances: 5

Total Appearances: 13

Team Debut: 1995

Vaulting from third place to retake the top position is Bank of America Merrill Lynch. London-based newcomer Kartikeyan Swaminathan, 31, took the leadership reins late in 2012, when former captain Ross Gilardi moved to New York to cover U.S. machinery stocks. Among the seven companies Swaminathan’s duo tracks are U.K.-based packager DS Smith and Irish container board maker Smurfit Kappa Group. The analysts relaunched coverage on both names with buy ratings in November 2012, deeming them well positioned to benefit from “secular growth trends, earnings quality and cash-flow generation,” explains Swaminathan. In mid-December 2013, DS Smith’s stock was up 64.9 percent, at 325.60 pence, and the researchers downgraded it to neutral, mostly on valuation. Smurfit’s shares had catapulted 123.3 percent, to €17.86, through December, and the team maintains its buy stance. “A clearer-thinking, better-connected, more-energetic group you’d be hard-pressed to find,” attests one portfolio manager in London. Swaminathan earned a master’s degree in computer science from University College London. He covered steel and paper stocks at J.P. Morgan Cazenove then moved to Goldman Sachs International before joining BofA Merrill in August 2012. “Kartik is a rising star,” champions another supporter.