The 2013 All-America Research Team: Accounting & Tax Policy, No. 2: David Zion

大卫·锡安claims the No. 2 spot for a fifth straight year. The ISI Group analyst “is as helpful as anyone at helping you navigate a form 10-K,” remarks one client. Zion is alerting investors to the positive impacts that higher interest rates are having on pension funding, observing that “S&P 500 pension plans improved by about $165 billion” this year, as of late August. In addition, he’s advising that tax reform is “gaining momentum” in Congress. “The heads of the two tax-writing committees,” Zion reports, “think that there’s a better than 50 percent chance that tax reform passes by the end of next year.” Any deal will likely see corporate tax rates slashed, loopholes eliminated and the tax base broadened, he believes. The analyst looks for those companies that pay at or near the statutory 35 percent federal corporate tax rate — principally domestic companies — to benefit. Those now paying effectively lower rates, such as technology and health care companies, will not. “They won’t have as many levers to pull if the tax code is simplified,” he concludes. —Pam Baker