THIRD TEAM
Thomas Gilbert & team UBS
UBS, which spent the past four years on top of the sector, falls to third place. Led by Thomas Gilbert, who is “unmatched in his convictions and intellectual integrity,” according to one client, the Zurich-based quartet pounded the table on France’s Arkema last March, at €26.26, on rising demand for acrylic coatings. The analysts originally upgraded the midcap specialty-chemicals supplier from neutral to buy in November 2007, as a bargain at €38.95, which critics charge was premature. However, by the end of December 2010, the analysts were vindicated: The stock had bolted 105.1 percent, to €53.87, since the March reiteration.
