< The 2015 All-America Research Team

Total appearances: 20

Analyst debut: 1998

At No. 2 for a third year running is Morgan Stanley’s Simon Flannery, who merits his 20th appearance on this roster. Indeed, one fund manager affirms, Flannery has “been covering the sector for decades and knows it stone cold. He has a good understanding of the companies and their stock prices, as well as the telecommunications cycle.” Flannery reports on 27 names and anticipates weakness ahead for many U.S. telecoms companies. “We expect the telecom sector to underperform the market over the next 12 months,” he advises, “due to ongoing competitive pressures in the wireless industry, eroding valuation support and heightened regulatory risk.” He does see opportunities in the tower and Canadian telecom groups, however. “These subsectors and companies have the best exposure to secular trends of mobile broadband growth and [information technology] outsourcing, combined with attractive valuations,” the researcher explains. In addition, he is sticking with Bellevue, Washington–based wireless services provider T-Mobile US. Last October, he resumed coverage on the nation’s third-largest network, assigning it an overweight rating largely on valuation and strong operational performance. The stock was then trading at $26.11, down 22.4 percent so far in 2014, while the sector was flat. Subsequently, by the middle of September, it had rallied 60.2 percent, to $41.84, compared with the 6.6 percent drop posted by its peers. Flannery “is a thorough, detailed analyst with strong opinions who is not afraid to go against the grain,” observes another supporter.