In yet another unprecedented year, U.S. sales teams were equally transformed in their approach.

2026 has been a remarkable year in several respects, according to Jose Yearwood, co-head Americas Cash Equities Sales, J.P. Morgan. “The scale of AI-related capital investment and the rapid expansion of the broader AI ecosystem suggest we are living through a period that future generations will study closely,” he said. “It has also been a tale of two halves for our business.”

“The first half was historic, as reflected in our externally reported results,” he added. “The second half has been more challenging, with stock-specific volatility rising sharply and driving more dispersed outcomes.”

Geopolitical uncertainty remains a significant overhang and has materially impacted markets, creating a difficult environment for J.P. Morgan’s clients to navigate, Yearwood said. “In that context, our focus is straightforward: to be there for our clients and to marshal the full strength of our platform by delivering timely insights, access, and practical support to the investment professionals we cover.”

The past year has been a dynamic and challenging period, according to Erika Kingetsu, head of institutional equity sales, Americas, at Morgan Stanley. While equity markets have remained resilient, the underlying environment has been characterized by significant dispersion, concentrated positioning and evolving client risk appetite.

“AI has continued to dominate investor attention and capital allocation while buoyant earnings growth, elevated capex, shifting interest rate expectations and geopolitical uncertainty have created periods of meaningful volatility and rotation,” she said.

“Throughout all this, our team at Morgan Stanley focused on helping clients navigate these dynamics by leveraging our research, corporate access and full-spectrum equity product suite to deliver unique solutions to our clients.”

Describing the past year in the market as a “rollercoaster”, Warren Ginsberg, head of US advisory sales at UBS, said, “The AI trade has become more nuanced around both winners and losers, while several periods of forced deleveraging have created unique buying and shorting opportunities.”

Additionally, the IPO market finally reopened. “Against this backdrop, clients have increasingly looked to experienced salespeople to help them navigate a more complex market,” he added.

The rapid pace of technological transformation in the world has also meant relationships and people matter more than ever in this industry. “Interestingly, even as the industry moves toward an AI-native world, we have seen clients place greater value on our research, corporate access, and sales advice,” Ginsberg said.

According to the results of Extel’s annual ranking of top sales teams, clients have placed this greater value on a familiar set of firms—but in a new order compared with last year’s leaderboard.

J.P. Morgan has been voted the new No. 1 generalist sales team in the survey after 2025’s runner-up finish. After taking first last year, Morgan Stanley has placed second. UBS is up from fifth to take third place, bumping Bank of America and Jefferies to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Voters could name their top five firms for the overall generalist sales across six performance attributes. For specialist sales, voters could rate up to seven firms in the eight categories.

There was less movement on this leaderboard, which mirrored its 2025 counterpart. Once again, Morgan Stanley topped the specialist rankings followed by UBS in second place. BofA Securities repeated its third-place finish. J.P. Morgan and Jefferies maintained their fourth and fifth place spots.

“Our team is sharply focused on our clients. By understanding each client’s investment process and priorities, we continuously find new ways to add value,” said Yearwood. “J.P. Morgan delivers this at scale through a repeatable and disciplined approach, where we continuously refine our execution framework to improve the quality, speed, and consistency of our work. Equally important is how we operate as a team. We share context, align coverage, and partner seamlessly so clients experience one coordinated franchise. The common objective is simple: deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients, every day.”

Jojo Sanders, co-head, Americas cash equities sales at J.P. Morgan, revealed that it has been a “truly transformational year” for the firm’s sales team.

“We have seen the next generation of talent step up with tremendous energy, ambition and impact, and the results have been exceptional,” Sanders said. “We are incredibly excited about the team we have built and what we can achieve together from here. We continue to raise the bar through stronger best practices, deeper investment in client relationships and the thoughtful adoption of new technology. Most importantly, we bring the full power of the firm to our clients, and that combination sets us apart.”

Approaching markets, investors, and stocks globally and collaboratively, which allows teams to work closely to prosecute business in an organized manner is a hallmark of Morgan Stanley sales, according to Ashton Curtis, global head of specialist sales at the firm.

This approach is applicable to both generalist and specialist salespeople. “Our leaders in equity sales are those who have the trust and ear of key decision makers at the accounts we service and are quick to react to changes in the market,” Curtis said. “Similarly, our top specialists can go very deep on an industry vertical or individual stock but message the conclusion or action on the back of it in simple terms that resonate with both sub-sector experts and generalist portfolio managers.”

Extreme collaboration and intense client coverage make a top sales team in 2026, concurred Curtis’s colleague Thomas Wigg, head of specialty sales, Americas, at Morgan Stanley. This is especially true when viewed through the aperture of the technological transformation currently touching every sector and asset class.

“The AI theme cuts across every sector and every asset class, posing important questions around durability of tailwinds, potential for major industry disruptions, heavy financing requirements, and crowded investor positioning,” Wigg confirmed. “The Morgan Stanley team worked together across equities, fixed income, research, trading, derivatives, thematic baskets, prime brokerage, banking and capital markets to deliver the most holistic insights for clients transitioning to a new world. Morgan Stanley’s top sales team delivers the entire firm to drive the most successful outcomes for our clients.”

AI has been a strategic priority for the sales leadership at J.P. Morgan for some time, according to Sanders. “We recognized early that it had the potential to reshape many aspects of our business, so we have been deliberate about examining how we work, deliver content and how we manage client relationships.”

The firm’s current focus is on using AI to improve the client experience and continually raising the standard of delivery. “Some of that comes through larger strategic initiatives, but equally important are the many smaller changes that help our teams scale, execute and respond more effectively. We see this as a significant opportunity and an important part of how we continue to differentiate and win for our clients,” Sanders said.

About 18 months ago, UBS introduced a differentiated sales coverage model that splits its generalist sales team by client type and investment strategy.

“The approach gives us dedicated teams focused on multi-manager platform hedge funds, single-manager funds, traditional asset managers, and cross-asset and emerging fund managers,” Ginsberg said. “That specialization has increased bandwidth, accountability and focus.”

It has become particularly valuable as headcount at the multi-manager platforms has expanded rapidly, he added. “At the same time, we have challenged our salespeople to be content-focused and a source of alpha for clients, rather than simply providing a service function. That requires fluency across products and asset classes, as well as the ability to bring alternative data, AI and systematic quantitative frameworks together with our fundamental research.”

As markets remain volatile and market structure continues to evolve, the sector specialists at UBS have become an increasingly important resource for clients looking to understand not just what is happening, but why, according to Allyson Gordon, head of Americas specialist sales at the firm.

“We strive to be the epicenter of all things sector related, leveraging our deep industry expertise, extensive client networks and collaboration across the UBS platform to synthesize sentiment, positioning and the key debates shaping investment decisions,” she said. “What makes our team particularly unique is the diversity of backgrounds we bring to the table—spanning industry, buy side, research, trading and sales.”

There is no single formula for success as a specialist, Gordon said. “It’s precisely that diversity of perspectives that creates a powerful flywheel of knowledge, allowing us to deliver differentiated insights and connect the dots for clients in real time,” she concluded.