The 2016 All-Europe Research Team: Small- & Midcapitalization Stocks, No. 2: Mark Fielding, Bosco Ojeda & team

Bosco Ojeda and newcomer Mark Fielding oversee UBS’s coverage of European small- and midcap companies — and steer their ten-strong squad to its second straight appearance at No. 2.

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< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team

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Mark Fielding, Bosco Ojeda & team
UBS
First-place appearances: 7

Total appearances: 17

Team debut: 1994

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Bosco Ojeda and newcomer Mark Fielding oversee UBS’s coverage of European small- and midcap companies — and steer their ten-strong squad to its second straight appearance at No. 2. Fielding, 38, works out of London and has been with the firm since November 2013. He previously spent 14 years in equity research at Citi, serving as head of its European capital goods squad before his departure for UBS, and holds an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Scotland’s University of Edinburgh. Fielding and his colleagues expect that portfolios in 2016 may start to rotate gradually away from defensives and back into such cyclical sectors as industrials, mining and small-cap stocks with exposure to emerging markets, since the continuing rerating of defensive names means they are no longer especially cheap. Moreover, although cyclicals are suffering from poor earnings visibility and few have decent returns, “value is starting to emerge,” says Madrid-based Ojeda, 43. Overall, European midcap valuations — which are above historical averages and in line with those of regional large caps — don’t appear to be inexpensive, he adds, “but earnings growth remains okay, and Europe remains a relatively safe place with moderate growth and margins below peak.” Companies the UBS analysts like include U.K.-based Greggs, operator of a food-on-the-go chain; Spain’s Indra Sistemas, an information technology company; Royal Vopak of the Netherlands, one of the largest tank storage service providers in the world; and Austria’s Zumtobel Group, which manufactures lighting systems and components. What distinguishes each of these names is that it boasts a “good management team and a good track record,” Ojeda explains. “A modest macro recovery in Europe would be beneficial, but most of these stocks have a self-help story.”

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