Barry Bannister Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.
Baltimore-based Barry Bannister of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., who repeats in second place, wins plaudits for a top-down approach that keeps him “focused on big-picture themes,” as one fund manager puts it. In May 2009, Bannister upgraded Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. from hold to buy, at $10.73, arguing that the declining dollar would buoy the oil-drill designer’s order flow. It did, and through August 2010 the shares of the company, which is incorporated in the Netherlands but has its operational headquarters in the Woodlands, Texas, more than doubled, to $21.78. During the same period the sector slid 6.5 percent.
