Champions of guidance shuffled for another winning list
For those of you who attribute importance to such matters, we can report that BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research has soared from eighth place last year to secure top ranking in the 2011 All-Asia Research Team conducted by the US magazine Institutional Investor.
This was the house, according to the magazine, that 'portfolio managers say provided them with the best guidance and the most helpful insights', on Asia. The rest of the top 10 in order include, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, UBS, Citi, Nomura, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, CLSA and Goldman Sachs.
The magazine notes that BofA Merrill Lynch's rise to the top was helped by the rise in companies it covers from 170 to 874.
Among the individual winners, CLSA's Chris Woods and his team wrestled back the top spot after coming in second last year. Eric Lau and his team came out on top in the small- and mid-cap stock category for the third year. The findings are based on responses from nearly 3,000 investment professionals at 935 institutions managing a total of US$1.6 trillion.
However, with so many surveys and awards these days it's hard to know how meaningful they are. Those in the industry declare them irrelevant, particularly if they don't do well, while those who come out top are happy to include them in their marketing literature. Those who dole out the awards make a useful turn in appealing to the vanity of the winners who turn up for the awards dinners. And on it goes.