Evercore ISI’s Jonathan Chappell has dethroned five-time champion Michael Webber as shipping’s top equity analyst in the annual poll carried out by Institutional Investor.
Chappell has been hovering around first place since the magazine began the rankings in 2015, having finished second in 2019 and third in 2018.
Webber left his long-held position at Wells Fargo Securities in August last year and launched his own boutique firm in Manhattan. The move may have led to him receiving less institutional support.
Webber finished fifth with a weighted average of 11% of the vote. Chappell led with 15%, followed by Amit Mehrotra of Deutsche Bank with 13%, Jefferies' Randy Giveans wit 12%, and Bank of America's Ken Hoexter at 11%.
Mehrotra also notched his first ranking in the transport and logistics sector, finishing sixth.
Chappell is regarded as “the dean” of shipping analysts given his experience dating back nearly 20 years.
He has been writing shipping reports since 2001 in his former post at JP Morgan, back when there were only three public shipowners in New York. He expanded his coverage to 21 owners before jumping to Evercore in 2011.
'Rewarding to be honoured'
“It is always rewarding to be honoured by your clients and peers as a thought leader in your industry,” Chappell told TradeWinds.
“The last 12 months have been a challenging time in several regards, and I think that extensive experience in the sector was especially helpful for clients as they attempted to navigate extreme volatility with some investment gains, or minimum losses.”
Chappell was one of the first analysts to call time on the rampaging tanker market in the year’s first half, downgrading three major owners on 2 May and declaring “the tanker trade is effectively over”.
What makes the top billing a bit more special this year is that the last 12 months have been littered with shipping market volatility ... at a level almost never seen before
Jonathan Chappell
The market indeed fell off from near-record highs and looks underwhelming heading into what is usually a seasonally-strong fourth quarter.
It was also a year in which Chappell broke from his long-time exclusive focus on shipping, taking on coverage of six rail companies in late March and dropping coverage of the dry bulk sector entirely on 1 July.
Asked whether the Institutional Investor honour carried particular significance in a year when he dropped some coverage, Chappell gave a different spin on the issue.
“Despite our broader shift in coverage, shipping remains an important part of my focus and my background. I don’t think the coverage shift makes the ranking mean any more this year,” Chappell said.
“I think what makes the top billing a bit more special this year is that the last 12 months have been littered with shipping market volatility, and associated equity volatility, at a level almost never seen before.
“So, to be able to adapt almost weekly and stay relevant with timely, flexible stock ideas and industry thoughts really shows the value of experience throughout different periods of historical cyclicality.”
