Nigel Dally Morgan Stanley |
Leaping from runner-up to No. 2 is Morgan Stanley’s Nigel Dally. “When Nigel speaks we all stop what we are doing and listen carefully,” insists one investor. In February Dally downgraded StanCorp Financial Group from equal weight to underweight, at $40.62, citing a mix of earnings pressure from low interest rates and an upsurge in disability claims. Good call. Shares of the Portland, Oregon–based provider’s shares tumbled 23.1 percent, to $31.22, and trailed the Standard & Poor’s sector benchmark by 14.3 percentage points, through August. “Nigel has the good judgment we all wish we had,” says another ally. “He knows how to translate insurance accounting — which normally makes multivariable calculus look like elementary school arithmetic — into clear insights.” |
Financial Institutions – Insurance/Life: 2012 Second