UBS Tops Institutional Investor’s European Equity-Research Poll

UBS AG was voted Europe’s top brokerage for equity research for a ninth straight year in a poll for Institutional Investor magazine. Nomura Holdings Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Suisse Group AG tied for second.

A total of 28 analyst teams at Zurich-based UBS were voted among the best researchers in the region, the publication said on its Web site today. Nomura, which jumped from eighth place, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse each had 22 favorably ranked teams.

The changing positions reflect upheavals in the industry, with banks purchasing rivals and analysts switching employers as bonuses were slashed. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index surged 61 percent from March 9 to Dec. 31, pushing the gauge to its biggest annual gain in a decade.

Tokyo-based Nomura, which bought Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s European operations after the U.S. bank’s bankruptcy in 2008, lured the largest number of new votes after poaching analysts from brokerages including Dresdner Kleinwort, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit.

Merrill Lynch fell to fifth place from second in 2009, the magazine said. Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were ranked sixth to eighth, respectively. New York-based Citigroup had won third place in 2009.

The results were based on responses from more than 1,100 investors at about 500 institutions managing an estimated $5.4 trillion in European equities, Institutional Investor said.