JP Morgan retains top broker title
Investment bank JP Morgan Cazenove has been named the top City broker for the third year running, according to the latest adviser rankings from Hemscott.
JP Morgan has led the table for 12 consecutive quarters. It gained five new clients in the three months to 11 August taking its client base to a total of 219 overall. Landsbanki Securities remains in second place, losing one client to leave it with a total of 159.
Among the FTSE 100 company brokers, JP Morgan came first with 35 clients, followed by UBS in second place with 29 and Merrill Lynch in third place with 24 clients. Deutsche Bank remained in fourth place this quarter with 17 clients while Citi and Morgan Stanley lost and gained one client each to both finish in fifth place with 16.
Challenging market conditions continued to plague Aim brokers with the top five losing a total of 15 clients. But Seymour Pierce held on to its top spot with 87 clients, followed by KBC Peel Hunt with 80. Collins Stewart, which jointly held the top spot with Seymour Pierce in the previous quarter slid to third place after losing six clients.
Among law firms, Norton Rose held the pole position despite losing two clients. It now has a total of 115. Slaughter and May leapfrogged into second place with 108 clients, leaving Eversheds in third place with 106 clients. Pinsent Masons sits in fourth position but holds the top Aim adviser ranking with 60 companies listed on the junior market.
Auditors continued to struggle this quarter with the top five losing a total of 27 clients but KPMG continued to hold first place with 402 clients, despite losing five.
PricewaterhouseCoopers came in second with 363 clients, with Ernst & Young and Grant Thornton trailing behind in third and fourth place with 214 and 313 clients, respectively.
However, Grant Thornton remained the top Aim auditor with 230 clients, 17 ahead of KPMG.
FD led the way amongst public relations advisers with 173 clients. Buchanan is in second place with 132. followed by Brunswick with 93.