< The 2014 All-America Research TeamChristopher SenyekWolfe ResearchFirst-place appearances: 5

Total appearances: 8

Team debut: 2007Slipping to second place is Christopher Senyek of Wolfe Research, who headlined this list the past five years. Even so, investors continue to value the analyst’s unique coverage. “Chris does a great job of integrating accounting and tax issues into thinking like a strategist,” one fund manager insists. “A good example is that he has been favorable on CIT [Group’s] ‘fresh start accounting,’ following bankruptcy, and now that’s starting to work. These are areas that most analysts just don’t cover.” Another subject that Senyek has been tracking for investors is the proliferation of tax-free spin-offs by U.S. corporations. These transactions are occurring in record numbers, he advises, as byproducts of increasing shareholder activism in what he characterizes as “a subpar-growth economic environment.” Companies hiving off businesses outperformed the broad market in the first half of this year by 5.5 percent, adds Senyek, and he expects that trend to hold for at least another 12 months. As examples of names to watch because they are expected to list newly separated companies soon, he cites diversified testing-equipment provider Agilent Technologies of Santa Clara, California; Wilmington, Delaware–based agricultural chemicals giant E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; Hertz Global Holdings, a car and equipment rental services provider headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey; and consumer paper products and cleaning solutions manufacturer Kimberly-Clark Corp. of Dallas.