< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team

2014-03-tom-johnson-all-europe-research-team-edouard-aubin.jpg
Edouard Aubin
& team
Morgan Stanley
First-Place Appearances: 5

Total Appearances: 13

Team Debut: 1989

Edouard Aubin, 39, guides Morgan Stanley to its first top showing in more than a decade, steering his twosome up from last year’s third-place finish. The London-based pair follow 11 companies and earns praise for always seeking to “think ahead of current market debate — like with Metro,” as one buy-side counterpart says. “This is what we try to do all the time, and having someone that adds significant value this way is not common.” Aubin and his teammate upgraded German hypermarket retailer Metro from neutral to buy in May, noting in part that management has been making moves to rein in what they believe to be its overstretched geographic presence. A recent example of this effort is the company’s mid-November announcement that it is considering spinning off its Russian cash-and-carry business. By early December, when they downgraded the stock to neutral, it had surged 44.3 percent, reaching their €36 target price, and they didn’t expect it to rise much further. In fact, through the end of that month, the shares slipped back to €35.20. Aubin joined Morgan Stanley in 2009 after four years spent covering global retailing names for hedge fund firm Amber Capital in New York. He previously worked on the sell side, tracking food and drug retailers as well as food service names for Deutsche Bank in London and then New York. Aubin earned a master’s degree from France’s Rouen Graduate School of Business.

See also Edouard Aubin's profile in the 2013 All-Europe Research Team.