Jun Harada UBS
second team Hajime Hitotsuyanagi Daiwa Institute
third team Naoko Matsumoto Nikko Citi
runner-up Satoru Kunieda Mizuho
It’s eight consecutive years in first place for Jun Harada , 38, of UBS. "He is very smart on timing market trends," declares one money manager. Harada downgraded marine transporter Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to neutral in August, at ¥1,309, on earnings pressure. In November, after the share price had sunk to ¥455, he upgraded it to buy as a bargain. The stock steamed ahead to ¥506 through February, rising 11.2 percent and leaving the sector’s 1.0 percent loss in its wake. In second place for a fifth year running is Hajime Hitotsuyanagi of Daiwa Institute of Research, praised by one client for his "independent views." Hitotsuyanagi continues to stand by his outperform recommendation on Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, originally made all the way back in 2002 — and it continues to work. The container ship operator’s stock sailed past the sector by 4.5 percentage points in the 12 months through February. After four years as a runner-up, Nikko Citi’s Naoko Matsumoto rises to third place. Although her yearlong bullish stance on shippers didn’t wash — the subsector plunged 54.4 percent last year — Matsumoto earns applause for her regular analyses of raw shipping data. "She never fails to give a thorough assessment," marvels one buy-sider.
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2009 All-Japan Research Team Rankings