John Ivankoe
J.P. Morgan
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 9

Team debut: 2005

Claiming second place for a second straight year is John Ivankoe. “He’s got the respect of both investors and the captains of industry,” avers one advocate of the J.P. Morgan researcher. Ivankoe expects casual-dining traffic to remain sluggish through 2014, as the growth of the number of dining options outpaces employment growth. His advice to his clients is to “be extremely selective, and [to] focus on specific margin and sales drivers.” On these terms, he points investors to Brinker International, the Dallas-based franchiser and operator of the Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant brands. Factors that will catalyze Brinker’s expansion include the introduction of pizza and flatbread on the menu, remodeled stores and more-efficient retrofitted kitchens, Ivankoe says. He highlighted the stock as his top pick in casual dining in February, at $32.74, and through August it leaped 22.1 percent, to $39.99, outdistancing the sector by 15 percentage points. “There’s not a detail he overlooks,” champions another money manager.— Katie Gilbert