< The 2015 All-America Research Team
Michael Goldstein
Empirical Research Partners
First-place appearances: 4
Total appearances: 20
Analyst debut: 1994
After four years in second place on this lineup, Michael Goldstein of Empirical Research Partners slips to third. He retains the No. 2 position on the Portfolio Strategy roster and has an avid following, including one West Coast client who declares, “Mike is terrific, very thoughtful and extraordinarily smart. He turns out a lot of papers — Mike is very prolific — that are really good at helping you understand what’s driving the market.” For his part, Goldstein counsels that “knowing what game is being played by the market is really important. You run the risk of showing up with a baseball bat when a hockey stick is required.” Currently, his market indicator is reading four out of five, he says, with “five representing a full-on, go-go growth market.” Accordingly, he explains, investors “are beginning to embrace growth characteristics in companies but haven’t taken their growth mindset to excessive levels yet. In that world,” he adds, “the right tool for stock selection is to look for the incremental production of free cash flow.” Stocks that screen well according to that criterion include multinational technology behemoth Apple of Cupertino, California; Gilead Sciences, a biotherapeutics developer based in Foster City, California; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.; and Canadian drug manufacturer Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.