EFG-Hermes Research ranked top in the region by fund and portfolio managers

This is the second year the firm's research department has topped the global business magazine's survey.

The EFG-Hermes research team came first in seven of the 14 categories. The Euromoney poll, conducted in May and June of this year, surveyed 195 portfolio and fund managers from regional and international financial centers, asking them which analysts are providing the best research coverage of the region's listed companies.

"We're obviously pleased with the poll results, which confirm our position as the premier provider of quality analysis on regional markets," says Head of Research Eiji Aono, who recently joined EFG-Hermes after co-heading the top-ranked telecom equipment equity research team at Credit Suisse in London. Aono had previously held positions in equity research at both Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

EFG-Hermes Research took the leading position in categories including banking and finance, cement, leisure and tourism, pharmaceuticals, real estate, telecoms and economics. The company was also ranked in the top three position in a further six categories, underscoring the strength and breadth the firm's research offering.

"The continued growth in the Middle Eastern financial markets is one of the most exciting elements of the international capital markets," says Euromoney magazine Managing Director Simon Brady. "Euromoney is delighted to be able to give the region's growing community of investors more insight into which banks / brokers are leading the way in providing this crucial service to the market."

This is the second accolade EFG-Hermes has received from Euromoney in as many months. In mid-June, the magazine named the firm its Best Equity House in Egypt at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2008.