Stephens’ transportation research team earns top honor for third consecutive year

Thomas Albrecht and Alexander Brand

The Trucker News Services

1/22/2008

LITTLE ROCK — The airfreight and surface transportation team at Stephens Inc. was named among the “Best Boutiques, Regional Firm and Independents” in the 2007 Institutional Investor magazine survey, the investment banking and brokerage firm reported Tuesday. This is the third consecutive year that the Stephens transportation team has won the airfreight/surface transportation distinction, the firm added.

In polling for its 2007 All-America Research Team, Institutional Investor asked participating analysts and portfolio managers at asset management companies and hedge funds to name the boutique or regional firm that they believe had done the best research work over the preceding 12 months. The publication also asked respondents to identify the sources of independent U.S. equity research that they found most valuable. It was upon these criteria that Stephens was rated the best boutique in the airfreight and surface transportation sector, according to the company.

Stephens’ top-ranked transportation team is composed of managing directors Thomas Albrecht and Alexander Brand, research analyst Kevin Sterling, and associate analysts Neal Deaton, George Pickral and Rhem Wood. The team, based in Stephens’ Richmond, Va., office, focuses on truckload, less-than-truckload, maritime, specialty rail, airfreight, logistics and transportation suppliers. This was the seventh year, and third consecutive year since working with Stephens Inc., that the analyst team of Thom Albrecht and Alex Brand was awarded this distinction by Institutional Investor.

The Stephens team and its trucking industry reports are frequently cited in The Trucker.

Stephens Inc.’s Research Department consists of 45 research professionals, all of whom provide fundamental equity research in a wide range of industries and together cover more than 200 stocks.

Stephens Inc. is a full service investment banking firm headquartered in Little Rock. Founded in 1933, the firm serves a client base which includes corporations, state and local governments, financial institutions, institutional investors and individual investors throughout the United States and overseas.