Sarbjit Nahal & team BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research
The buy side says: “They push the envelope in terms of putting a financial perspective on extrafinancial issues.”
Debuting in first place in this sector, which did not produce publishable results last year, is the five-strong BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research squad captained by Sarbjit Nahal, 38. “I have been working with Sarbjit for many years and have always found his work very helpful in terms of tackling the always-difficult challenge of how environmental, social and governance issues have a material financial impact,” observes one fund manager. In December the team published “Oil and Gas: Better Safe Than Sorry,” in which the analysts explained that with safety concerns looming large in investors’ minds in the wake of the BP oil spill, oil and gas exploration and production companies with the most up-to-date equipment would be favored. Among the stocks they recommended was Singapore-based Keppel Corp., which by the end of that month had advanced 4.6 percent and led the broad market by 3.4 percentage points, in Singapore dollar terms. Nahal, who earned a master of law degree from University College London in 1997, joined BofA Merrill Lynch in September from Société Générale, where he co-led that firm’s SRI team (which was a runner-up in 2009).