SECOND TEAM
Peter Hickson & team UBS
The UBS squad under Paul Galloway dominated this sector from 2002 through 2009; Galloway left the firm in March 2009 to join Sanford C. Bernstein and was replaced by Peter Hickson. The six-person team spent last year in the runner-up position but this year bolts to second place, thanks in part to producing what one fund manager calls “the best all-around mining research on the Street.” In September 2009 the analysts upgraded BHP Billiton from neutral to buy, at 1,671.77p, on surging Chinese demand for steel, copper and other commodities; they have reiterated their position repeatedly since. By year-end 2010 shares of the British-Australian outfit, the world’s largest mining company in terms of revenue, had zipped to 2,551p, a gain of 52.6 percent.