Daiwa has once again topped II’s 2024 All-Japan Research Team.
The last quarter of 2023 saw Japan officially slip into a recession and lose its mantle as the world’s third-largest economy, bumped down one spot by Germany. But the country is getting the world’s attention as the Nikkei stock index hits highs not seen since 1989 and amid speculation that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates.
But the market environment in Japan has remained positive, even with the ups and downs, according to the region’s top research providers, and investor interest is strong. “Mainly driven by expectations for changes in the BoJ’s policy, we have seen a surge in interest from overseas investors seeking insights into the Japanese market, particularly around shifts from deflation to inflation,” according to a spokesperson from Nomura Securities in an emailed statement. The past year has been dominated by the BoJ’s policy adjustments, wage and price increases, and measures to overcome deflation.
To select the members of our 31st annual Japan Research Team, Institutional Investor solicited opinions of directors of research and heads of investment firms with major securities holdings in Japan. We received responses from over 1,000 individuals at 436 firms.
Participants rated their top firms in each sector and then separately rated individual analysts or economists/strategists at those firms to create two distinct rankings for each sector. A numerical score was produced by weighting each vote by the respondent’s Japanese equity commissions and the average rating awarded to create the Commission-weighted leader rankings.
Using these scores, ranks were determined. Firms/analysts were designated runners‐up when their scores came within 35 percent of the third-place scores. For the analyst rankings, the cut-off date for individuals is the date of the survey opening (7th November 2023).
The individuals surveyed are kept confidential to ensure continuing cooperation. Voters must meet eligibility requirements, and winners must achieve a minimum vote count. All ballots are subject to review by our Research Operations Group.
These results were compiled by Project Managers Tucker Ewing, Janet Godden, and David Racadio.