< The 2016 All-Asia Research Team

Total appearances: 5

Team debut: 2012

Adarsh Sinha and Claudio Piron shepherd their Bank of America Merrill Lynch currency and rates strategy squad to third place, the same position they held last year. The six analysts work out of Hong Kong — where Sinha, 36, is stationed — and Singapore, home base for 45-year-old Piron. Their “great, very timely recommendations” win plaudits from one fund manager, who singles out for praise the group’s anticipation of the Malaysian ringgit’s vulnerability vis-à-vis the stronger dollar last year. BofA Merrill’s researchers are currently bearish on the renminbi, a view that Piron says is “premised on China’s need to accommodate monetary policy easing to support growth, absorb a significant rise in government debt issuance and offset monetary tightening from capital outflows and falling foreign exchange reserves.” They are upbeat, however, on the Australian dollar, thanks to that nation’s economic outperformance. “The rebalancing of Australia’s economy continues to proceed more smoothly than elsewhere,” he explains, “and we retain a bullish view on the Australian dollar versus other commodity-Asian pairs.”