Bank of America Merrill Lynch has racked up 229 positions — far more than any other firm — across the eleven analyst rankings that Institutional Investor has published thus far this year. It has held the top spot on our Global Research Leaders: Year to Date roster since April, when it displaced J.P. Morgan. The latter firm remains ensconced in second place, with a total of 197 positions, while Morgan Stanley returns at No. 3, with 147. Rounding out the top five are Deutsche Bank, whose aggregated total is 126, and UBS, with 107 spots.
II research team surveys generally include a mix of equity and fixed-income categories (and buy-siders’ votes are weighted separately by their investments in each asset class). When totals are viewed strictly by category, BofA Merrill leads the equity lineup, with 160 positions, followed by J.P. Morgan, with 128, and Morgan Stanley, with 126.
When only fixed-income sectors are considered, BofA Merrill and J.P. Morgan share top honors, with 69 spots apiece. Barclays comes in third place, with 40.
Our surveys also cover a combination of developed and emerging economies (and participants’ votes are weighted by their allocations in each market). When results of each classification are viewed separately, BofA Merrill is just ahead of J.P. Morgan in Developed Markets — the firms claim 134 and 130 spots, respectively.
BofA Merrill is also in the lead for reporting on Emerging Markets, with 95 positions — 23 more than Morgan Stanley, which seizes second place when firms are measured by this metric.
Among the highlights of the combined results, which can be viewed by clicking on one of the links in the navigation table at right:
• A total of 44 firms lay claim to at least one sector-topping performance thus far this year. BofA Merrill has the highest number of first-place finishes, with 55, followed by J.P. Morgan, with 44.
• These two firms also earn the highest number of runner-up positions, with 76 and 67, respectively.
• Mizuho Securities Group, at No. 15 overall, is the highest-ranked firm to appear in only one survey. It leads this year’s All-Japan Research Team.
The rankings published thus far this year are:
• The All-America Research Team;
• The All-America Fixed-Income Research Team;
• The All-Asia Research Team;
• The All-Brazil Research Team;
• The All-Europe Research Team;
• The All-Europe Fixed-Income Research Team;
• The All-India Research Team;
• The All-Japan Research Team;
• The All-Russia Research Team;
• The Emerging Europe, Middle East & Africa Research Team; and
• The Latin America Research Team.
Results of this year’s final survey, the All-China Research Team, will be published November 24.