< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team
Advancing from runner-up after four years is Kempen & Co.’s squad, now under the guidance of Bernd Stahli, who captained Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s second-place team last year. Stahli joined Kempen in September and leads the firm’s nine-strong crew — which has analysts in Amsterdam, London and New York — up to third place. They report on 58 stocks and, five years after the European property industry’s most recent down cycle, the researchers remain constructive on the group. “The sector has successfully restructured, and fundamentals generally look favorable,” explains Stahli. “Most corporates through a process of self-help have restructured and are now front-footed to face the next cycle,” he adds. In October his troupe reinstated coverage on Land Securities Group, the U.K.’s largest commercial property company, with an overweight rating and a target price of 1,075 pence. The real estate investment trust “is well run, with a good development pipeline to capitalize on this growth and it was, and still is, not too expensive,” explains Stahli. The stock closed the year at 963.50p, up 4.2 percent and ahead of the broad market by 2.1 percentage points. |