< The 2016 All-Asia Research Team

Total appearances: 11

Team debut: 1994

Citi most recently appeared on this roster in 2012, earning a runner-up position, and returns to claim the No. 3 spot. Newcomer Seung-Hyun (Sean) Lee now directs the firm’s South Korea country research, managing six analysts in Seoul and two in Hong Kong who together monitor 77 domestic names. They are recommending that investors buy shares of Samsung Electronics Co., the world leading smartphone manufacturer, in part thanks to the potential long-term growth for the Suwon-based conglomerate’s display panel and semiconductors businesses. At 1,800,000 won, their price objective for the stock implies a 40.6 percent potential premium to its trading level late last month. The 46-year-old leader impresses clients with what one backer describes as his ability to “explain complicated technologies in layman’s terms and convey what differentiates a company from its competitors.” Lee received a bachelor’s degree in economics from South Korea’s Yonsei University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business in Pennsylvania. Before moving to Citi in 2007, he tracked small and midcap South Korean stocks at HSBC.