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2016 All-Japan Research Team: Equity Strategy, No. 2: Masatoshi Kikuchi
Japan’s No. 2 equity strategist is Masatoshi Kikuchi, who earned the same position last year.
Total appearances: 12
Team debut: 2005
Japan’s No. 2 equity strategist isMasatoshi Kikuchi, who earned the same position last year. The Mizuho Securities Group researcher, 53, “strongly expresses his opinions on the market outlook, which I appreciate,” applauds a buy-side fan. Kikuchi notes that “many companies are revising down their earnings forecasts due to the strong yen and slowing China. Slowing iPhone sales are also dragging on earnings forecasts.” At the same time, he believes that Japanese equities have been oversold and expects the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to rise above 20,000 during the early summer. “The outlook of global economies will be stabilized, domestic demand will pick up, the government and the Bank of Japan will support the stock market before July’s upper house elections, and domestic portfolios will rebalance to equities from bonds as the yield for the ten-year bond declines,” insists the strategist. The Nikkei closed at 16,724.81 in mid-March, down 14.4 percent over the preceding 12 months, compared with a 2.4 percent loss for the S&P 500 and a 7.6 percent decline in shares worldwide. Preferred sectors include information and technology, owing to attractive dividend yields. He also recommends that clients favor automobile and machinery companies, citing their potential to rebound after the yen stops appreciating; construction names, thanks to the industry’s positive earnings outlook; and real estate players, because the group is well positioned to benefit from negative interest rates. “I admire his market theory–based arguments and his massive and high-quality market reports,” observes one asset manager.