Broker tips: Banks, Asset managers, Next

Investec has turned more bullish on global banking giant HSBC, upgrading the stock from 'add' to 'buy', but has retained a clear preference for sector peer Standard Chartered (also rated 'buy').Analyst Ian Gordon said in a research note on Friday that both HSBC and StanChart are expected to deliver further outperformance against UK domestic lenders Lloyds and RBS (both rated 'hold')."[...] but in the case of HSBC, a continuing inability to deploy its emerging capital surplus will, we believe, lead inevitably to suboptimal (below target) returns. Most investors do candidly acknowledge this reality already, which rather begs the question.....why own HSBC at all?"Jefferies has downgraded its ratings for three asset managers, Schroders, Henderson and Jupiter, in a review of the sector following the strong equity markets and re-ratings seen so far this year.Jefferies said: "For the share rally to be sustainable therefore we need to see further upgrades during the course of the year, and those will come either from higher markets, accelerating inflows or both. With financial uncertainty continuing to loom over the European landscape we feel this is less likely than a pause or retrenchment and so are easing back on our ratings."After a 50% share-price jump over the past 12 months, Next has seen its rating downgraded by Credit Suisse from 'outperform' to 'neutral', causing the stock to fall on Friday morning.Credit Suisse said that some of the drivers of the financial year (ending January 2014) have not been quite as significant as expected. As such, it believes that there is little chance of upgrades to full-year numbers until the second half following a slow January and expected slow first quarter.BC