HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research (BofAML) is the top ranked Research house according to Institutional Investor magazine’s 2011 All-Asia Research Team Survey. This follows the recent announcement that BofAML is also the top-ranked Research team in Institutional Investor’s 2011 All-Japan Research Survey, marking the first time that a single institution has simultaneously ranked No. 1 in both surveys.

“Global investor interest in Asia has never been higher and the region’s role in the global economy cannot be overstated,” said Hun Soo Kim, director of Asia Pacific Research at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. “Our success in aligning our research and sales platforms to ensure the delivery of value-added ideas and high-quality client service is evident in our top rankings. These results are particularly significant as the rankings are derived from client responses.”

The results mark a dramatic improvement from the 2010 surveys, in which BofAML was the eighth-ranked Research house in Asia and 11^th-ranked Research house in Japan.

On a regional basis, BofAML analysts obtained 31 ranked positions in the All-Asia survey, up from 21 in 2010. These include eight first-ranked team positions – BofAML analysts were named the first-ranked teams for Hong Kong, Korea, consumer, infrastructure, insurance, Internet, oil and gas, and technology-semiconductors. In the All-Japan survey, BofAML analysts obtained 24 ranked positions, up from seven in 2010.

“Our No.1 rankings are recognition of the talent and hard work of our analysts and sales people and the outstanding quality of the entire equity platform at Bank of America Merrill Lynch,” said Candace Browning, head of BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. “We set out to build the premier client-focused equity platform in Asia, and these results are a powerful demonstration that our efforts are being acknowledged by clients.”

The 2011 Institutional Investor All-Asia Research Team Survey results are based on responses from nearly 3,000 investment professionals at some 935 institutions that collectively manage an estimated $1.6 trillion in Asia ex-Japan equities. The 2011 Institutional Investor All-Japan survey results are based on responses from nearly 1,000 investment professionals at some 270 firms that collectively manage an estimated $1 trillion in Japanese equities.

The BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research franchise covers more than 3,300 stocks and 950 credits globally and ranks in the top tier in many external surveys. In addition to these current survey results, the group was named No. 1 in the 2010 Institutional Investor All-Emerging Europe and All-Latin America Research team surveys and No. 3 in the 2010 Institutional Investor All-America Equity, All-America Fixed Income and All-Europe Research team surveys.

The group was also named 2010 Top Global Broker (second-consecutive year), Top Europe Broker, No. 2 U.S. Broker and No. 3 Asia broker by Financial Times/StarMine. The team was named Best Brokerage by Forbes/Zacks for the second-consecutive year, and was also the winner of the Emerging Markets’ magazine EM Research Global Award for 2010.

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