Shinsuke Iwasa UBS
second team Kenichiro Yoshida Goldman Sachs
third team Yoshiyuki Kinoshita BofA–Merrill Lynch
After spending last year in second place, Shinsuke Iwasa reclaims the top spot. Clients praise the UBS analyst’s “steady, meticulous work” and the “strong continuous performance” in his stock calls, such as his recommendation to buy Jupiter Telecommunications Co., because of rising subscriber rates and increasing cash flow at Japan’s biggest multiple system cable operator. Iwasa, 36, made the call in September, at ¥76,000. By the end of February, the stock had advanced to ¥77,900 — a gain of 2.5 percent that was well ahead of the sector’s 16.2 percent drop. Although he slips a notch to second place, Kenichiro Yoshida of Goldman Sachs (Japan) continues to impress investors with what one money manager calls “consistently accurate predictions.” One example: Yoshida, who also is ranked No. 1 in Trading Companies, downgraded TV Asahi Corp. to sell in June, at ¥156,000, based on plummeting advertising revenues. By the end of February, the stock had tumbled to ¥116,700. Yoshiyuki Kinoshita, who spent the past two years as a runner-up, rises to third place. The Banc of America Securities–Merrill Lynch researcher, described by one buy-side backer as “a reliable, cautious and careful analyst,” downgraded Dentsu to sell in August, at ¥2,205, predicting a deep decline in demand for the advertising agency’s services. The stock price tumbled 34.5 percent, to ¥1,444, through February.
