THIRD TEAM
Eric Lopez & team BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research
Down a notch to No. 3 is the six-member BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research squad helmed solely this year by Eric Lopez (who also co-leads the third-ranked team in Renewable Energy) following the departure of Simon Flowers. Clients hail a series of reports about the negotiations between British electricity supplier International Power and French rival GDF Suez throughout the first half of 2010, culminating in July’s upgrade to buy on IPR, at 316.80p, after the two utilities renewed talks on sharing resources. An agreement was reached in August, and by the end of the year IPR’s stock had catapulted 38.1 percent, to 437.60p. “They were bulls, and they were right,” applauds one grateful investor.