Luca Solca & team Sanford C. Bernstein

The buy side says: “Luca is the most plugged-­in analyst in the retail industry.”

Luca Solca, whose “unique perspective puts him way ahead of the Street,” according to one buy-side supporter, guides the Sanford C. Bernstein trio up a notch to its first appearance in first place. Way back in April 2008 the analysts began urging clients to buy LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and they have emphasized their view repeatedly since, citing the French conglomerate’s rising dominance in a sector that has seen strong growth. The stock vaulted 59.5 percent last year, from €77.20 to €123.10, and bested the sector by 6.1 percentage points. Solca, 47, who also leads the No. 3 team in Retailing/General, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Italy’s Università Degli Studi Di Padova in 1986 and an MBA from Università Bocconi in Milan in 1990. He worked as a retail and consumer goods consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and Boston Consulting Group before joining Bernstein in 2006.