second team Jamminder (Jimmy) Bhullar J.P. Morgan
third team Nigel Dally Morgan Stanley
For a fourth straight year, Andrew Kligerman of UBS is No. 1. Kligerman, 46, is hailed for naming as top picks, in March, MetLife of New York, Minneapolis-based Ameriprise Financial, and Reinsurance Group of America, which is headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri, all on their excess capital and low valuations. By the end of August, the stocks had soared 202.6, 117.6 and 99.4 percent, respectively. Kligerman also earns points for his industry contacts. “No one runs a better meeting with company execs,” asserts one client.
Praised for “remaining skeptical through the financial meltdown but turning positive on select names at the right time,” as one buy-side backer puts it, Jamminder (Jimmy) Bhullar rises one slot to the second team. The J.P. Morgan analyst upgraded Newark, New Jersey–based Prudential Financial from neutral to overweight in July, at $36.99, citing its strong return-on-equity and earnings growth. The stock had jumped 36.7 percent, to $50.58, by late August, edging past the sector by 1.2 percentage points.
Nigel Dally of Morgan Stanley lands in third place. Fans praise Dally’s February upgrade to overweight on Aflac, calling shares of the Columbus, Georgia–based insurer a bargain at $16.32. The stock had zoomed to $40.62 by the end of August, a gain of 148.9 percent that trounced the sector by 34.8 percentage points. Dally is “detail-oriented and factual,” observes one advocate.
Click here to see the All-America Research Team rankings.
