Harold Thompson & team
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank claims the No. 2 spot for a third straight year. Led by London-based Harold Thompson, who also co-captains (with James Isenwater) a runner-up crew in Food Producers, the analysts are an “outstanding resource, with a fantastic long-term perspective on value creation,” as one portfolio manager puts it. Investors should not expect this year to be a repeat of last, when the sector climbed 30.8 percent, Thompson says. “I see a more moderate year in 2013,” he adds. “We can spend ages debating the macro situation and associated risks, but these companies have been around for decades — if not centuries — and have therefore seen far worse. The key is to focus on their strategies and true market potential, which remains vast, and to ensure that they are putting down the necessary tools to grasp the opportunity.” Among the companies doing just that, the researchers believe, are Germany’s Beiersdorf, maker of Nivea skin care products, and U.K.–based favorite Reckitt Benckiser Group, the world’s largest producer of household products and a stock the team has been advocating for more than a year. “Harold is more regular and reliable on Reckitt Benckiser than most of his competitors,” cheers one London-based buy-side analyst. — Katie Gilbert