First Team

Michael Goldstein

Empirical

Second Team

Vadim Zlotnikov, Sanford C. Bernstein

Third Team

Keith Miller, Citi

Clients say Michael Goldstein, 52, of Empirical Research Partners, who leaps from third to first in Quantitative Research (he is also No. 1 in Portfolio Strategy), provides “quantitative strategy research that is forward-looking, rather than just reporting what happened last month.” In August, Goldstein published “The Mortgage Credit Crunch: Where We Stand” that not only assessed the damage from late July’s subprime-fueled sell-off but also gave investors cause for optimism: “The credit crunch will not be severe enough to push the economy into recession,” and there is value to be found in the beaten-down financials sector. Goldstein, 52, earned an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in 1979 and worked for Sanford C. Bernstein for 16 years before helping found Empirical in 2002. Vadim Zlotnikov drops one notch to second. The Sanford C. Bernstein researcher “has the best quant model on the sell side,” says one admirer. Last October, Zlotnikov notified investors of the risks inherent in many investment models and processes, which were built on historically low levels of asset price volatility, and highlighted problems in the subprime market. He reiterated his view in April and urged investors to limit their exposure. “Vadim is able to weigh the issues and recommend a calculated, well-articulated strategy to deal with them,” says one investor. Citi’s Keith Miller falls from second to third but continues to win praise for “concise and timely research,” in the words of one client, citing the analyst’s equity risk assessment models, which allow investors to judge the macro exposures of their portfolios versus various benchmarks. “His research is applicable to real-life portfolio management, while still being grounded in financial theory,” explains one client.