Benjamin Bowler & team BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research
Unranked last year, the BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research teams finishes third, this time under the direction of London-based Benjamin Bowler. The ten-member troupe impressed clients with last November’s recommendation that they buy Western European sovereign credit default swaps as a bargain, with an annual fee, or spread, of 60 basis points. By the end of August, the swaps had traded up to a spread of 157 basis points. “Ben is provocative, knowledgeable and honest,” attests one backer.