< The 2015 All-Europe Research Team

Total appearances: 13

Team debut: 1992

Repeating in third place is UBS’s London-based troupe under the direction of Nicholas Nelson, who also captains a squad that captures a runner-up position on the Equity Strategy lineup. His U.K. research team remains popular with investors for its attention to small details, in both its reporting and its service to clients. “The word I would use to describe them is ‘conscientious’,” one money manager offers. “I use them mostly to track small- and midcap stocks — and it’s like clockwork. I get an e-mail every morning, and it’s always high quality all the way through.” The analysts are touting multinational aerospace, defense and security contractor BAE Systems. The London-based manfacturer is the only U.S.-oriented defense company with sufficient exposure to a large growth market — Saudi Arabia — to offset an inevitable decline in Pentagon spending, Nelson says. Trading at 507.50p at the end of January, BAE’s stock bears a price objective of 540p. Nelson and his colleagues also favor Berkshire-headquartered telecommunications giant Vodafone Group. “We believe the return to growth will be driven by a recovery in problem markets such as Germany, Italy and Spain; by growth in Africa and India; and by growth from mobile data,” explains the 42-year-old crew chief. UBS’s squad believes that a price of 265p is justified for the shares, which implies a 13 percent upside to their level at the end of last month.