< The 2015 All-America Research Team
Jeffrey deGraaf
Renaissance Macro Research
First-Place Appearances: 11
Total Appearances: 15
Analyst Debut: 2001
All-America Research Team Hall of Famer Jeffrey deGraaf earns his 15th consecutive appearance on this roster, including his current 11-year run at the top. Among the Renaissance Macro Research analyst’s strengths is his ability to remain “a step ahead of everyone else,” reports one fund manager. “He’s always coming up with fresh ways to look at market data, and his ideas are clearly communicated and very actionable.” DeGraaf, 47, sees “a lack of breadth” and “very narrow leadership” in U.S. equities now. A likely scenario is that “a more tumultuous market lies ahead for the remainder of 2015 and into 2016.” Quality is a theme that investors will want to pursue, he reasons, particularly with the Federal Reserve expected to tighten its monetary stance. The Fed’s bumping up of interest rates should not “derail the market,” he notes, “but we’re watching yields carefully for signs of a potential policy mistake.” Historically, disapproving sentiment has been expressed in the form of “lower ten-year and two-year yields and an increase in triple-B spreads,” the researcher adds. At the same time, however, “there’s some opportunity to take advantage of the recent weakness in [real estate investment trusts], as people have mistakenly liquidated them as their concern around the Fed’s raising rates has grown,” says deGraaf. “Financials have been suppressed for years, and many are breaking out of massive base formations. We love the thrifts, but commercial and investment banks look like the beginnings of new uptrends.”