Peter Elwin & team, J.P. Morgan Cazenove

The J.P. Morgan Cazenove duo led by London-based Peter Elwin jumps from runner-up to second place. One money manager says the analysts publish “valuable” research, whether the topic is financial instrument disclosure analysis or the negative accounting impact of the Greek debt proposals. The key issue equity investors will face this year is “collateral damage from the bond markets” — given low government-debt yields in such countries as Germany and the U.K., and widening spreads — asserts Elwin, who started covering accounting and valuation back in 1997 and added pension strategy in 2010. “Restoring confidence is obviously an essential step on the way out of our current mess,” he observes. “Truth and fairness in financial reporting is essential to this, but history tells us that the temptation is for companies to veer in the opposite direction.” The researchers’ advice to clients? “Dig through the disclosures at the back of the book,” he says. “If you can’t find answers, caveat emptor!”