The 2014 Emerging EMEA Research Team: CEEMEA Equity Strategy, No. 2: Alexander Redman & team

In its best showing to date on this lineup, Credit Suisse captures second place, vaulting from runner-up under the leadership of Alexander Redman. Investors say that the hallmark of these two London-based researchers is their valuation models, which use fundamental analyses to rank upside potential and downside risks. “They have a unique perspective on how to understand markets,” one money manager says, dubbing the pair “an idea-generation machine — they’re really useful when you’re making allocation decisions.” Redman, who also leads a team that wins a runner-up position in Emerging-Europe Equity Strategy, reports that he and his colleague are bullish on Poland, and much of Central Europe, “as a leveraged play on a euro zone recovery.” They project “a 15 percent upside for Polish equities,” he notes, adding that “domestic indicators continue to gain strength.” Based on their macro modeling for the country, the strategists recommend overweighting Polish banks in particular. Credit growth in the country is at its “most robust in years,” Redman says, and earnings revisions “are the strongest since first-quarter 2011, with positive earnings-per-share growth.”