The 2014 All-Russia Research Team: Equity Strategy, No. 3: Alexey Zabotkin

Alexey Zabotkin claims the No. 3 position, down from second place. Clients hail the VTB Capital strategist for “keeping a watchful eye on the indexes,” in the words of one fund manager. In late February, with the Russian Trading System index down 12.2 percent year to date, at 1,267.27, Zabotkin advised investors that the setback was partly a result of “geopolitical noise.” He predicted that the benchmark would rally 27 percent through year’s end, and by the end of May, it had gained 2.2 percent, closing at 1,295.75. In his model portfolio, the researcher favors dividend-paying exporters, whose performance is being bolstered by the declining currency and slow domestic growth, as well as defensive domestic names. “The Russian consumer market remains significantly underpenetrated,” Zabotkin explains, “which guarantees good growth even considering currency depreciation.” He particularly likes Internet and e-commerce players. “Growth in online penetration and a small number of leading platforms bodes well,” he contends.