Heath Jansen & team, Citi
Citi returns to the ranking for the first time since 2009. The team, newly expanded to eight members, is now under the sole direction of Heath Jansen, who rejoined the firm in 2010 from Verulam Resources Fund, a New York–based hedge fund investing in commodities that he left Citi in 2009 to help found. (Former co-leader Johan Rode left Citi in 2010, for Barclays Capital.) The London-based crew tracks more than 30 names with “unmatched caution that’s proved correct,” says one client. Case in point: In July the analysts initiated coverage on Finnish nickel producer Talvivaara Mining Co. with a sell rating, at 422p, citing a supply surplus and the miner’s large debt burden. The shares plunged 52.6 percent, to 200p, through December.