Institutional Investor's Annual Ranking of Europe'

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Feb 7, 2017) - European sell-side research distinction continues to be a battle for excellence, according to Institutional Investor 's 2017 All-Europe Research Team .

Bank of America Merrill Lynch maintains its No. 1 spot this year with 30 positions, beating out by the narrowest of margins an ambitious UBS, which -- gaining six places for 29 overall -- leapfrogs into second place over J.P. Morgan Cazenove (No. 3) and Deutsche Bank (No. 4). This year 881 institutions participated in the survey -- an increase of 12 percent from last year -- casting an impressive 13 percent more votes.

"This was a pivotal year for European research. With the surprises of Brexit and the U.S. election compounded by pending MiFID II regulation, a quality, well-defined research product takes on even more importance than before. At Institutional Investor we continue to hear from buy and sell sides alike that our All-Europe Research poll is the most trusted and impartial mechanism for the sell side to understand how their product is being perceived by their global investor clients," says Will Rowlands-Rees, Managing Director of II Research. "As investment managers look to identify and justify their spend with research counterparties on a consistent basis in Europe and globally as part of MiFID II compliance, it's humbling to hear that an increasing number of managers view us as a key component of that selection and justification process."

This year's top ten European sell-side research firms:

1. Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2. UBS 3. J.P. Morgan Cazenove 4. Deutsche Bank 5. Morgan Stanley 6. Exane BNP Paribas 7. Bernstein 8. Barclays (tie) 9. Citi (tie) 10. Credit Suisse

Among the investment trends uncovered by this year's results:

• The buy side's MiFID II approach is still uncertain. Our research shows that only 30 percent of U.K. portfolio managers and analysts are confident that their firm is MiFID II-compliant, and 75 percent of voters overall share that they are still determining how they plan to pay for research post-MiFID II.
• In a topsy-turvy year, international investors from the U.S. and Asia voted in significantly greater numbers. This mirrors trends of increased investment diversification outside of home markets in the search for returns, as active managers and hedge funds alike continue to face outflows to passive investment instruments.
• European TMT is HOT. As is country research. Votes increased more than 24 percent in the Telecoms, Media, and Technology category this year, reflecting the further focus of corporates across sectors to leverage technology in order to drive efficiency and customer engagement. Country voting was up 37 percent -- demonstrating that high-quality, niche providers have a critical role to play going forward.

View full ranking results, analysis, and methodology online .

About Institutional Investor

Now in its 50 ^th year, Institutional Investor has consistently distinguished itself among the world's foremost financial publications with incisive writing that provides essential intelligence for a global audience. Institutional Investor Research is the premier resource for information and unparalleled insight into the leading equity and fixed-income research analysts, corporate leaders, and money management professionals in every corner of the globe. For more information, visit www.institutionalinvestor.com .