Stéphane Déo & team, UBS
Stéphane Déo’s UBS troupe of five, which spent the past three years in first place, slips back to second. The London-based team is “very active in the debate about euro zone issues and their potential implications — the group stimulated and owned the debate,” declares one portfolio manager. The economists also get special mention from another client for their early work on the negative effects of a country’s leaving the euro zone. Déo says his team culls information from sources as varied as governments, central banks and think tanks. “We are still quite cautious because I do not think what has been decided is a solution for this crisis,” Déo adds. Meanwhile, Europe’s larger economies — those of France, Germany, Italy and Spain — are the ones to watch. “Everybody expects Greece to default, so when it happens it will not create a massive surprise,” he concludes.