SECOND TEAM
Charles Mills, David Alexander Molloy & team Credit Suisse
Standing firm in second place for a second year running is the Credit Suisse threesome co-headed by Charles Mills and David Alexander Molloy. Investors applaud the team’s “short and extremely sharp” research reports and “incredibly deep industry knowledge.” The trio upgraded Northern Foods from neutral to buy in July, believing the shares to be bargain-priced at 46.50p and that the U.K.-based manufacturer of ready-made foods was a tasty acquisition target. The stock moved little until mid-November, when news that the company planned to merge with Ireland’s Greencore Group helped drive the share price up more than 20 percent in one day, to 56.50p. That’s when the analysts downgraded the stock to hold, on valuation. The share price continued to rise, however, and ended the year at 62.75p. The merger is expected to close in the second quarter.