< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team
Andrew Wood
Sanford C. Bernstein
First-Place Appearances: 12
Total Appearances: 13
Team Debut: 2004
For a 12th time in 13 years, investors and buy-side analysts deem Sanford C. Bernstein the best source of research on Europe’s food producers. Working out of Singapore, Andrew Wood, 51, provides coverage for the firm, and he is the only individual to appear at No. 1 on the All-Europe Research Team for reporting on more than one sector — he and Bernstein also nab the top spot in Household & Personal Care Products for a seventh year running. “Wood is a really stellar analyst, with unparalleled experience in the food and HPC sectors given that he has been covering them for over 15 years,” attests one fund manager. Another backer adds that “his work is underpinned by his four-pillars-of-value-creation approach — I wish more analysts across consumer used the same approach.” Wood follows four European food companies and carries his positive outlook on that group into 2016. His top pick is Unilever, a British-Dutch consumer goods giant that “can deliver strong and consistent operating performance into the medium term,” he says. Rated outperform throughout the past year, the stock advanced 5.5 percent through mid-January, rising to 2,777.08p during a period in which Europe’s food producers shares, in general, climbed 3.8 percent and its broad market fell 5.9 percent. Wood’s price objective for Unilever is 3,300p.