Benjamin Swinburne
Morgan Stanley
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 5

Team debut: 2009

Benjamin Swinburne of Morgan Stanley captures the No. 2 spot for a fourth year running, though one money manager insists that, “when it comes to media, Ben is the best.” Swinburne is also top-ranked in Cable & Satellite. His media portfolio encompasses 17 stocks, and Swinburne continues to view this sector as attractive. “If 2009 was about survival, ’10–’11 about the rebound and ’12 about sustainability,” the analyst says, “the path ahead appears to be about offense and optimizing.” In particular, he forecasts that managements will focus their efforts on restructuring and returning capital to shareholders, bolstered by “confidence in the sustainability of the existing ecosystem defined by the pay-TV package, the growth in global demand for U.S. content and the growing comfort that digital players are complementary to earnings,” Swinburne explains. Preferred names include two New York–based mass media companies, CBS Corp. and Twenty-First Century Fox. The content ownership and sheer size of these players give them pricing power in the television segment, he notes, and they have “made significant moves on the capital front,” as well. — Pam Baker