Leaping from runner-up to win the No. 2 position — his best showing to date on this list — is Deutsche Bank’s Yaroslav Lissovolik, who also claims third place in Economics. In September the analyst foresaw opportunities in the transportation sector and dubbed Moscow-based Aeroflot a top pick, when its shares were trading at 51.13 rubles. Russia’s largest airline, he advises, was enjoying double-digit traffic growth, elevated capacity utilization, a high dividend yield and a low valuation. The shares soon took off, soaring as high as 87.95 rubles in mid-January before being dragged back in the broad market sell-off. Nonetheless, Aeroflot closed May at 55.15 rubles, up 7.9 percent since September and ahead of its Russian peers by 11.9 percentage points. Lissovolik continues to recommend that stock, and he also is touting export-oriented companies, in general. Favorable commodities prices and the weak ruble are contributing to a wind at exporters’ backs, and as the world’s largest diamond miner, Mirny-based Alrosa is exceptionally well positioned for smooth sailing, he advises. From late April, when the analyst named Alrosa a favorite, through May the shares leaped 16.3 percent, to 41.30 rubles, against the 11.1 percent advance by the broad Russian market. “He is a nimble strategist with a deep understanding of emerging-markets economies,” remarks one portfolio manager. |
The 2014 All-Russia Research Team: Equity Strategy, No. 2: Yaroslav Lissovolik