Alexander Hugh, Nicholas Nelson & team, UBS

The 40-strong UBS squad, which is headquartered in London, slips one rung back to second place. Overseen by Nicholas Nelson and Alexander Hugh — who also co-leads, with Bosco Ojeda, the No. 3 team in Small- & Midcapitalization Stocks — the researchers provide coverage of 316 stocks. “They’re a big, pan-European house, but they also have very good local brokers who cover lots of names,” observes one buy-side fan. The team’s outlook for 2012 is mixed. “We see Europe and the U.K. in recession ­— but this is a European recession, not a global one,” Nelson says. “Therefore there are better prospects for U.K. stocks that are exposed to international factors.” Top picks include Glasgow-based power generator Aggreko, for which Europe represents only a small part of global operations, and Ashtead Group, an industrial-equipment rental company headquartered in London with extensive operations in the U.S.