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Deemed by one backer to be “very detailed, thorough and incisive,” Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.’s Hugh Wynne Jr. holds third place for a second consecutive year. “What I like about Hugh is his ability to see the space from a 30,000-foot perspective,” another money manager declares. “By comparing utilities with other sectors, he’s able to provide deeper and more valuable insight.” Regulated utilities are finally “having their day in the sun,” explains Wynne, adding that he’s expecting a 6 to 7 percent nominal return for both the group and the broader market in the year ahead. “Here’s a sector where expected returns are in line with the market, and there’s a current cash component to those returns in the form of dividend yields,” he says. “Not only is it intrinsically attractive to have a low-beta sector with a high competitive return — but it has exactly what investors seem to be looking for, which is stability and transparency of earnings and relative stability in the stock price.” Given the sector’s elevated valuations when compared with the broader market, Wynne recommends Rosemead, California–based Edison International “as a cheap way to own a very rapidly growing, very well-regulated and very profitable utility.” RUNNER(S)-UP Jonathan Arnold Deutsche Bank Securities Brian Chin Citi Daniel Eggers Credit Suisse Gregory Gordon ISI Group |