< The 2015 All-America Research Team
Richard Ross
Evercore ISI
First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 1
Analyst debut: 2015
Joining this roster for the first time, in third place, Evercore ISI researcher Richard Ross “is a technical analyst with a knack for the tactical,” one fund manager states. “He made a great call on housing in November and stayed with it. He also caught the energy trade right when the sector began to roll over in early May.” A dominant theme for U.S. equity markets going into the second half of this year has been the “remarkable chasm” between winners and losers, says Ross. On the upswing have been stocks in the consumer discretionary, health care technology and, more recently, consumer staples and financials sectors, he notes, while the historic collapse in the prices of crude oil and commodities has punished companies across the energy, industrials, materials and utilities industries. Going forward, he projects that strong performers — which constitute “a far greater weighting of the S&P 500” — will continue apace while the “painful collapse in crude oil and energy runs its course.” Beyond the U.S., European markets are faring well despite the Greek crisis, the analyst adds, and Japan continues to outperform even as China struggles, implying that “global risk appetite is still present, though skepticism remains high.” Against this backdrop, he forecasts that funds will flow from stocks to bonds, deals should be plentiful, and the Federal Reserve will maintain an “easy” policy stance. Ross, 44, worked for five years as a global technical strategist at Auerbach Grayson & Co. before jumping to Evercore ISI last October. Previously, he was a technical researcher at Tocqueville Securities and spent a decade as a Nasdaq Stock Market proprietary equity trader and market maker. He began his career in finance as a sales assistant in the private client division of Alex. Brown & Sons and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Atlanta’s Emory University as well as an MBA in finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.