NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 6, 2011) - Before the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis shattered the country on March 11, Japan appeared to be well on the way to economic recovery. Last year the nation's real gross domestic product grew 3.9 percent -- the fastest among the Group of Seven industrialized nations -- and exports increased for the first time in three years, surging 24.4 percent year-over-year.
As the country struggles to return to normalcy amid the destruction and uncertainty, equity analysts have been busy assessing the disaster's economic impact as they provide investment insight to clients. Each year Institutional Investor asks money managers to weigh in with their opinions on which of these analysts do the best job of covering Japanese companies, and the winners are inducted onto the All-Japan Research Team. Polling for this year's survey, our 18th annual, had already concluded and the results tabulated by the time disaster struck.
BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research catapults from No. 11 to share the top spot on the 2011 All-Japan Research Team with returning champ Nomura; the firms each capture 24 total team positions. UBS, with 18 positions (three fewer than in 2010), holds steady in third place. Daiwa Securities Group, which tied for No. 1 last year, tumbles to fourth place after losing nine positions; it wins 15 spots this year. Rounding out the top five is Citi, which holds the same rank and the same number of team positions -- 13 -- as it did in 2010.
Results are based on responses from nearly 1,000 investment professionals at some 270 institutions that collectively manage an estimated $1 trillion in Japanese equities.
The complete list of winners can be found on our web site, www.iimagazine.com.
For more information contact Alyssa Walker at awalker@iiresearchgroup.com or (212) 224-3677.
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Contact Information:
Contact:
Alyssa Walker
awalker@iiresearchgroup.com
(212) 224-3677