Thomson Reuters | Thomson Reuters Extel Survey 2008 Results

11 Jun 2008

Thomson Reuters Extel Survey 2008 Results

London - Thomson Reuters , the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced the results of the 35th Thomson Reuters Extel Survey. Long considered the leading benchmark for excellence of investment banking, this pan-European survey highlights achievement in the buy side, sell side and corporate communities.

The 2008 Survey represents the weighted views of over 7,500 investment professionals from 63 countries, and garnered in excess of 200,000 votes -- making it the most extensive assessment of its kind in the European investment community.

Voting was conducted primarily online and ran from 30 March to 30 May 2008. It reflects the record contribution of over 1,600 buy-side firms, 150 brokerage firms/research houses and 450 of Europe's largest quoted companies worldwide. All data, votes received and methodology applied are independently checked and verified by Deloitte.

This year the Survey added awards for Leading Hedge Fund and Leading Finance Director, further highlighting the importance of identifying quality research and excellence in sell-side services in the current financial services landscape.

Highlights of the key winners in the 2008 Survey are:

Leading Pan-European Brokerage Firm for Equity and Equity-Linked Research: UBS
Leading Pan-European Fund Management Firm: JPMorgan Asset Management
Leading Pan-European Individual Equity Analyst: Andrew Wood, Sanford C. Bernstein, Head of Food Manufacturers Team
Leading Pan-European Sector Team (across all categories): Société Générale Global Strategy
Leading Pan-European Equity Sector Team: Merrill Lynch, Banks Team
Leading Hedge Fund: GLG
Leading Pan-European CFO: Lawrence Rosen, Fresenius Medical Care AG

The 2008 Thomson Reuters Extel Survey identified a number of industry trends, which include:

What fund managers pay for: Fund managers place their highest value on fresh thinking and new ideas (48%), followed by facilitating direct access with company management (40%)
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI): 64% of fund management firms now run up to 5% of their total assets on an SRI basis, as opposed to 47% in 2007, and 87% of respondents expect increasing SRI involvement over the next 12 months
Corporate Governance: 90% of respondents cited board independence as their most crucial corporate governance concern

"The Thomson Reuters Extel Survey is the most authoritative survey of its kind, providing the most relevant data covering the buy side, sell side and corporate markets across Europe. Extel is a great example of how Thomson Reuters delivers intelligent information and I'm proud to continue to build on its 35 year legacy," offered Devin Wenig, CEO of Thomson Reuters Markets. "Congratulations to this year's winners."

Today's Extel Award ceremony was hosted by Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC, at the Royal Opera House, London drawing nearly 400 members of the European financial community.

In addition to today's live presentation, the Survey bestows more than 100 additional awards covering equity sectors, economics and strategy, equity derivatives, and emerging markets categories. Headline results for the key 2008 categories (2007 in brackets where applicable) are:

Leading Pan-European Brokerage Firm for Equity and Equity-linked Research:
1. UBS (1)
2. Merrill Lynch (3)
3. Citi Investment Research (2)

Leading Pan-European Fund Management Firm:
1. JPMorgan Asset Management (3)
2. Fidelity International (1)
3. Capital International (2)

Leading Pan-European Hedge Fund:
1. GLG
2. Och-Ziff Capital Management
3. Amber Capital

Leading Pan-European Individual Equity Analyst:
1. Andrew Wood, Sanford C. Bernstein (1)
2. Stuart Graham, Merrill Lynch (23)
3. Antoine Colonna, Merrill Lynch (2)

Leading Pan-European Brokerage Firm for SRI & Sustainability Research:
1. Société Générale (2)
2. Citi Investment Research (1)
3. Cheuvreux (3)

Leading Pan-European Sector Team (across all sectors):
1. Société Générale Global Strategy (-)
2. Merrill Lynch, Banks Team (6)
3. HSBC, Telecommunications Services Team (9)

Leading Pan-European Equity Sector Team:
1. Merrill Lynch, Banks Team (1)
2. HSBC, Telecommunications Services Team (3)
3. Merrill Lynch, Luxury Goods Team (7)

Leading Pan-European Specialist Sales Person:
1. Gerard Zaffran, Merrill Lynch (2)
2. Michael Hall, UBS (-)
3. Erland Sternby, Dresdner Kleinwort (1)

Leading Pan-European Fund Management Individual:
1. Peter Lawrence, JPMorgan Asset Management (2)
2. Asif Jeevanjee, JPMorgan Asset Management (1)
3. Neil Woodford, Invesco Asset Management (5)

Leading Pan-European Brokerage Firm for Equity Trading & Execution:
1. UBS (1)
2. Citi Investment Research (5)
3. Merrill Lynch (3)

Leading Pan-European Brokerage Firm for Equity Sales:
1. UBS (1)
2. Cheuvreux (2)
3. Deutsche Bank (3)

Leading Brokerage Firms for Continental European Small Caps Research:
1. Cheuvreux (2)
2. UBS (1)
3. Citi Investment Research (3)

Leading Brokerage Firm for UK Small Caps:
1. ABN AMRO (2)
2. Numis Securities (1)
3. Cazenove (4)

Leading UK Small Caps Analyst:
Richard Rae, ABN AMRO

Leading Pan-European Economist/Strategist
Albert Edwards, Société Générale

Z/Yen Leading Pan-European Brokerage Firm for Operations:
1. UBS (2)
2. Merrill Lynch (-)
3. Morgan Stanley (-)

To view the headline results visit www.extelsurveys.com (after 3.30pm BST today).

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