< The 2014 All-America Research Team
Robert Kad,
Brian Lasky
& teamMorgan StanleyFirst-Place Appearances: 4
Total Appearances: 6
Team Debut: 2009Morgan Stanley’s squad co-led by newcomers Robert Kad and Brian Lasky tops this roster, which now reflects a team rather than individual analyst approach to coverage of Master Limited Partnerships. Stephen Maresca, who held the No. 1 position for the past three years, left the firm in July for New York–based buy-side firm Jennison Associates. The current Morgan Stanley group is constructive on the space over the long term, owing to “the strong midstream [capital expenditure] cycle, relative attractiveness of the group on a total-return basis, and broadening and institutionalization of the asset class,” reports Lasky, 29. The players they prefer are general partner, small- to midcap stocks “whose growth trajectory and longevity are underappreciated by the market,” he adds, “and those names with perceived heavily discounted relative value where we see rating opportunity.” Lasky cites as examples of MLPs that meet these criteria midstream operators Energy Transfer Equity of Dallas and Western Gas Equity Partners, based in the Woodlands, Texas. The co-captain joined Morgan Stanley in 2007 after earning a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He started in the investment banking division then transferred to equity research to cover the exploration and production sector before moving to his current role. Kad, 34, graduated from New York’s Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in applied economics. Before rejoining the sell side at Morgan Stanley in 2008, he worked for three years as an MLP portfolio manager at Alerian Capital Management. He co-launched that Dallas-based firm with a former colleague at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he had spent the previous three years covering energy companies.