Top analysts and investors were broadly surprised last month by the Federal Reserve's decision to hold off on curtailing its $85 billion a month bond program, Institutional Investor reported in its 2013 All-America Research Ranking on Tuesday.
According to the publication, which ranked J.P. Morgan as the top research hose for the fourth consecutive year, top analysts think the central bank may be privy to information markets may lack.
"Many clients felt the message and rationale were not clear, especially since there had been so much talk from Fed officials about tapering," Jonathan Rosenzweig, Citi's New York-based head of Americas equity research, said to II.
"Some investors expressed concern that the Fed knows something that others don't about the state of the recovery or, at the other extreme, around the long-term inflation risks associated with an extended period of ultraloose policy," Rosenzweig added.
Institutional Investor also ranked the top sales and trading teams for the year. For more on these stories, please click here.