< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team

Total appearances: 16

Team debut: 1994Slipping from second place to third are Bharat Iyer and his J.P. Morgan colleagues. From their base in Mumbai, the 16 analysts keep tabs on 120 Indian stocks. They currently advise clients to position their portfolios for a “potential recovery in the local economy,” reports the 47-year-old crew chief. Strong performance is likely to come from “high-quality financials with strong capital and liability franchises,” he adds, as well as “manufacturing sectors with low financial leverage and high operating leverage — commercial vehicles and cement are key picks here.” Currency-related fears are “overdone,” Iyer says. “The central bank has been intervening actively to ensure that the currency remains competitive.” Additional favorite industries going forward are information technology services and health care, on which they have maintained an overweight rating for much of the past 18 months, largely thanks to strong demand. Indeed, the nation’s health care names rocketed 51.4 percent from the end of October 2013 through last month, outperforming India’s broad market by 27.2 percentage points. “This is a well-seasoned team with a lot of good, often contrarian views,” remarks one fund manager.