Electronics/Consumer

It’s four straight years in first place for Yuji Fujimori of Goldman Sachs (Japan), valued for his “detailed forecasts,” according to one fund manager.

Yuji Fujimori Goldman Sachs

second team Eiichi Katayama Nomura

third team Yasuo Nakane Deutsche

runners-up Hitoshi Kuriyama BofA–Merrill Lynch; Kazuharu Miura Daiwa Institute

It’s four straight years in first place for Yuji Fujimori of Goldman Sachs (Japan), valued for his “detailed forecasts,” according to one fund manager. Fujimori, 39, told clients to unload their shares of stereo-equipment manufacturer Pioneer Corp. in October, at ¥498, and cited a number of reasons for the downgrade: a slowdown in consumer spending for nonessential items, unfavorable foreign exchange rates and more. Pioneer’s share price tumbled 79.3 percent through February and trailed the sector by an eye-popping 59.9 percentage points. Eiichi Katayama, in second place for a fourth year running, provides clients with a “deep understanding of the quality of managements,” says one buy-sider. The Nomura Securities Co. analyst also warned investors away from Pioneer, and for many of the same reasons as the first-teamer. The stock had plunged from ¥1,067 at the time of Katayama’s March downgrade to ¥103 by the end of February. Repeating in third place is Deutsche Securities researcher Yasuo Nakane, who “has the best contacts and knowledge in the liquid-crystal-display chain companies,” attests one client. Nakane downgraded Sharp Corp. to hold in June, informing investors that the flat-panel TV maker was losing market share. Through February, Sharp’s stock lagged behind the sector by 1.0 percentage point.

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2009 All-Japan Research Team Rankings

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