Hiroyuki Okaseri Mitsubishi UFJ
second team Akiko Kuwahara Morgan Stanley
third team Yusuke Ando Daiwa Institute
runner-up Takaaki Muramatsu UBS
Hiroyuki Okaseri of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. vaults from runner-up all the way to first place, thanks in part to the “frequent and useful information” he provides, according to one impressed portfolio manager. The 34-year-old analyst urged investors to buy Nippon Paper Group in May, at ¥2,879, anticipating a rise in containerboard, corrugated- and printing-paper prices. The stock rose 25.0 percent, to ¥3,600, in late December, outpacing the sector by 13.7 percentage points. Then it started to fall amid the broad market rout, sliding to ¥2,185 by late February, but the analyst remains bullish. Okaseri, a 1997 graduate of Hokkaido University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, joined Kokusai Securities Co. in 2000; Kokusai became a part of Mitsubishi two years later. Akiko Kuwahara of Morgan Stanley Japan, who rises one notch to second place, offers “a useful mix of short-term and long-term recommendations,” says one investor. Kuwahara reiterated her long-term buy recommendation on box maker Rengo Co. in October, on valuation. Through February the stock was ahead of the sector by 11.0 percentage points. Yusuke Ando of Daiwa Institute of Research advances from runner-up to third. Ando upgraded Mitsubishi Rayon Co. to neutral in November, after management announced a restructuring plan. The stock moved in line with the sector’s 17.0 percent drop through February. “He’s a precise judge of market momentum,” cheers one admirer.
