second team Rod Lache Deutsche
third team John Murphy BofA Merrill Lynch
It’s three straight years in first place for Himanshu Patel of J.P. Morgan, described by one portfolio manager as “a workhorse” who excels at customer service: “He is on the phone a lot and always making personal visits.” Patel, 34, impressed investors with bullish calls on tire manufacturers, including Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. of Findlay, Ohio, and Akron, Ohio–based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Both were recommended in April, on rising demand. Through August the stocks screeched ahead by a jaw-dropping 168.4 and 134.9 percent, respectively, making the sector’s otherwise-astounding 75.6 percent advance seem paltry by comparison.
After spending last year in the runner-up position, Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank reclaims the second-place spot he held from 2005 to 2007. “Rod has great industry contacts,” asserts one investor. Lache’s top calls of the past year include a buy on Johnson Controls in March, at $8.68, on the Milwaukee-based battery manufacturer’s improved profitability. In July, after the stock had zoomed 162.1 percent, to $22.75, Lache downgraded it to hold, on valuation. The shares continued to climb, but trailed the sector by 11.6 percentage points, through August.
Parked in third place for a second straight year is BofA Merrill’s John Murphy, who “gave frequent alerts about restructuring and the odds on bankruptcy” of General Motors Corp., according to one client. Investors also appreciate Murphy’s buy recommendation on Ford Motor Co. in April, at $4.49, noting that the Dearborn, Michigan–based company would benefit from being the only U.S. automaker to decline government assistance. Ford shares had sped to $7.60 by late August, for a gain of 69.3 percent.
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