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Albert Desclée, Arne Staal & team
Barclays
“They provide relevant and in-depth analysis that is very meaningful for investors.”
Barclays vaults from runner-up to top the sector for the first time. Albert Desclée and newcomer Arne Staal co-captain the London-based team, which “provides interesting analysis of quantitative issues,” according to one buy-side supporter. The researchers see tail-risk hedging, risk-driven asset allocation and the search for yield as dominant themes for investors adjusting to the postcrisis financial world. “We’re working with clients on finding solutions to make sure they have better diversification, which means less potential for large losses,” says Staal, who earned a Ph.D. in finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the U.S. Desclée holds an MBA from Insead. Both men worked as quant analysts at Lehman Brothers before moving to Barclays in 2008. — Carolyn Koo