< The 2014 All-Europe Fixed-Income Research Team

Nitin Dias, Stephanie Renegar & team
J.P. Morgan
First-place appearances: 2

Total appearances: 4

Team debut: 2011

The J.P. Morgan squad spearheaded by Nitin Dias and Stephanie Renegar earns its second consecutive showing at No. 2 in large part thanks to the team members’ “great depth and breadth of knowledge,” one advocate declares. In June the foursome upgraded Europcar Groupe’s 9.375 percent senior subordinated 2018 notes from neutral to overweight, dubbing them a bargain at 94.5 percent of par value. Further, despite weak European vehicle demand, the analysts considered the French car-rental company a “stable operating story,” Renegar says, and credited its rising revenues and management’s cost-containment initiatives. By year’s end the instrument had jumped to 107.17 percent of par, and it remains recommended. “They stuck to their guns — and they were right,” insists another backer. Looking ahead, the researchers “prefer smaller automotive credits over chemicals, given a tougher environment for euro chemicals names,” reports Renegar. She and her co-chief also direct the No. 1 crew in High-Yield Basic Materials, the No. 2 team in Investment-Grade Manufacturing/General Industrials and the No. 3 troupe in Investment-Grade Basic Materials.