< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team

Total appearances: 12

Team debut: 2002Ge (Edwin) Chen, 34, and Gautam Chhaochharia, 40, guide UBS to its fourth straight No. 3 finish. These analysts “are teeming with interesting ideas that are often out of consensus,” declares one booster. “They produce very high quality publications and are always worth listening to.” Stocks the UBS team favors include Multi Commodity Exchange of India, an independent exchange operator and provider of online services for commodities futures markets throughout that country, which should benefit from “a change in ownership structure,” says Chhaochharia. “It also has the potential for significant earnings upside” following the expected merger of the Forward Markets Commission with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, he adds. The proposed rollup of the commodities futures market regulator with the stock market overseer will allow a commodities exchange to expand into segments accessible to stock exchanges, the researchers note. They also have a positive outlook on Kajaria Ceramics, India’s largest manufacturer of ceramic floor and wall tiles. The company is delivering secular expansion thanks to a panoply of drivers, including the upgrade and rehabilitation of household stock and the government’s “push on housing,” Chhaochharia explains. Kajaria continues “to outpace the industry and peers in terms of growth, margins and returns,” he adds, and “remains well placed financially for future growth.” On the other hand, the team advises, clients should sell Jubilant FoodWorks, an Indian food and beverages provider whose share price “does not clearly reflect new competition,” he says. Moreover, investors have been too optimistic about the company’s pizza business, they contend, furthering the stock’s overvaluation.