THIRD TEAM
Mitsumasa Okamoto BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research
Unranked since 2008, Mitsumasa Okamoto finishes third. The BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research analyst issued a valuation-based upgrade from neutral to buy on NKSJ Holdings, a Tokyo-based holding company with life and nonlife insurance subsidiaries as well as firms that offer investment advisory services, in September. Through February the stock advanced 28.5 percent, from ¥480 to ¥617, and led the sector by 2.9 percentage points. One impressed investor hails the timeliness of Okamoto’s reports — “his are always the first to hit the Street” — as well as his access to company managements, “which is important, since the insurance business in Japan is not known for its transparency.”
Polling and tabulation of data as well as reporting on the sector profiles were completed before the March 11 Tohoku earthquake.