BofA Conquers Asia; Skyrockets to No. 1 in Institutional Investor Survey of Region's Top Analysts

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 16, 2011) - BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research has gone to great lengths to expand its coverage of Asia's red-hot equity markets -- the firm's analysts now track 874 companies, 170 more than last year at this time -- and the effort appears to be paying off. Portfolio managers who participated in the 2011 All-Asia Research Team survey, Institutional Investor's 18^th annual ranking of the region's best analysts, say no firm does a better job of covering Asian equities than BofA.

BofA soars from No. 8 to No. 1 by winning 31 total team positions -- 10 more than last year. Nipping at its heels, however, is Morgan Stanley, which rises from fourth place to second after capturing 28 team positions, four more than in 2010.

J.P. Morgan, which tied with Morgan Stanley last year, climbs one rung to third place; it picked up two more positions this year, for a total of 26. Rounding out the top five are UBS in fourth place, with 24 positions, and Citi in fifth place, with 23.

Deutsche Bank jumps three spots to finish in the top ten, at No. 8. The German firm captures 19 positions, a dozen more than last year.

Results are based on responses from nearly 3,000 investment professionals at some 935 institutions that collectively manage an estimated $1.6 trillion in Asia ex-Japan equities.

The complete list of winners can be found on our web site, www.institutionalinvestor.com.

For more information contact Alyssa Walker at awalker@iiresearchgroup.com or +1 (212) 224-3677.

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