Masashi Morita Okasan Securities Co. The buy side says: “Masashi Morita gets the big picture right.”

In first place for a third year running is Masashi Morita, 39, of Okasan Securities Co. Throughout the past year, Morita has maintained his bullish stance on Kyoto’s ­Nintendo Co., first recommended back in 2007 and highlighted repeatedly since — most recently in October, at ¥20,850, on the belief that the February 2011 launch of ­Nintendo 3DS in Japan would power higher profits; he predicts 3DS will be the most popular game console in history. By the end of February, the stock had advanced to ¥23,970, a 15 percent gain that was just ahead of the sector’s 14.2 percent rise. One client credits Morita for his ability to “see both business and gamer viewpoints,” which adds a “deeper dimension to his stock calls.”

Polling and tabulation of data as well as reporting on the sector profiles were completed before the March 11 Tohoku earthquake.