Edward Kelly
Credit Suisse
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 5

Team debut: 2009

For a fifth year running, Edward Kelly of Credit Suisse seizes second place. “Ed is my go-to guy in the space,” declares one money manager, because he “is always candid in his opinion of his companies, never sugar-coating his views,” the backer adds. Kelly launched coverage on New York–based Fairway Group Holdings Corp. with an outperform rating in May, at $18.30, not far from its April IPO price. The gourmet grocery store chain, he reasons, is bound to get a lift from the trend toward healthy living. Through August the stock swelled 26.7 percent, to $23.18, compared with the sector’s 2.5 percent slip. “Ed’s accounting background proves useful, as he is able to explain complicated issues that investors need to understand,” another proponent offers. — Katie Gilbert