< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team
Total appearances: 12
Team debut: 2007After two years in second place, J.P. Morgan slips to No. 3. Even so, investors appreciate what one admirer describes as the “new and fresh point of view on the markets” that Robert Smith and his eight-person squad provide. Smith reports that an “active multifactor” quantitative investing strategy has been performing remarkably well in Asia over the past few years, while “value style investing has been working mostly against us. By being balanced across earnings, momentum and quality,” he explains, “a typical quant model can steadily add alpha.” Working out of offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Sydney, the researchers advise that the regional environment is “less about macro and market timing and more favorable for stock-selection strategies.” Accordingly, he says, they recommend that clients adopt a “quality style of investing” to reduce risk.
