Jason Fairclough
& team
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
Debuting in second place is the Bank of America Merrill Lynch team of 12 under Jason Fairclough. The analysts — who work out of Russia, South Africa, Turkey and the U.K. — report on 55 stocks with “an eye for detail and an understanding of the key players in the industry,” as one portfolio manager puts it. In March, a month after its spin-off by South African parent Gold Fields, they launched coverage on Sibanye Gold with an underperform rating, at 1,322 rand, citing rising costs and declining production. The stock tumbled 36.5 percent, to 839 rand, and trailed the sector by 21.3 percentage points, through May. — Katie Gilbert