< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team
Eduardo Lecubarri & team
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
First-Place Appearances: 4
Total Appearances: 8
Team Debut: 2009
As it has done for the past two years, J.P. Morgan Cazenove earns first-place honors for its coverage of Europe’s small- and micap stocks. The firm’s London- and Mumbai-based trio led by Eduardo Lecubarri is applauded by one fund manager for its “systematic approach to the space. It has a great methodology, comparable between regions, and is always updated.” Lecubarri, 42, believes that there is not “a single issue that ever drives the market,” so the analysts instead use their proprietary strategy framework to analyze companies. Currently, they are favoring names “with attractive valuations, strong balance sheets with which to boost shareholder returns and no operating downside,” he reports. Companies that pass the researchers’ screen include: Atresmedia Corp. de Medios de Comunicación, a Spanish media group; British residential property developer Bellway; Mediaset España Comunicación, Spain’s largest television network; Randstad Holding, a Dutch human resources provider; U.K.-based drinks company Stock Spirits Group, which operates in Central and Eastern Europe; Salzgitter, one of Germany’s largest steel producers; and Vectura Group, a U.K. drugmaker. Lecubarri “should be managing a fund,” declares a second admirer. “He makes money year after year.”