< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team
Philip Middleton & team
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
First-Place Appearances: 13
Total Appearances: 36
Team Debut: 1990
Leaping from third place, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s London-headquartered squad under the guidance of Philip Middleton tops this lineup for the first time since 2012. The researchers’ “high-quality and clear analysis” impresses one buy-side counterpart who also notes that their “buy call on the London Stock Exchange Group over the last two years has been very successful, and our clients have benefited from holding this stock.” Indeed, over the trailing 24 months through mid-January, the U.K.-based international exchange operator’s stock soared 46.3 percent, to 2,404p, outperforming its European peers by 68.9 percentage points. LSE remains recommended, with a projected value of 2,950p. Considering the regional sector as a whole, in mid-December, Middleton and his two teammates increased their price objective for the shares by 17 percent, based on the average of their targets for each company in their portfolio. For the year ahead, Swiss private banking group Julius Baer Gruppe is one of their favorites, as it combines an attractive valuation, capital management upside and long-term growth potential, the 55-year-old crew chief says. He and his colleagues also are touting France-based investment firm Wendel. “The market does not give Wendel full credit for its transformation into a private-equity-oriented vehicle,” he explains. Finally, British private equity and venture capital company 3i Group is among the trio’s top picks because its “portfolio is delivering robust growth, and this should drive book-value growth,” Middleton says.