Yoji Otani
Deutsche Securities
Yoji Otani, who rises one rung to second place, “just keeps getting better and better,” declares one London-based fund manager. The Deutsche Securities analyst pounded the table on Mitsui Fudosan Co. in June, at ¥1,430, after the Liberal Democratic Party (which would go on to win a landslide victory in December’s parliamentary elections) introduced a bill in the National Diet that would pour money into public works projects to protect against disasters. By mid-March the Tokyo-based builder’s stock had rocketed to ¥2,725, for a stunning 90.6 percent gain that bested even the impressive 88.5 percent advance by the sector. Otani, who follows 33 companies, recommends the entire sector “aggressively,” he says, owing to newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s commitment to “increasing public works spending and monetary easing.” — Ben Mattlin