16 up-and-comers in equity research on Wall Street

Welcome back to the work week – that is, assuming you are back and not stuck in an airport, or, heaven forbid, still driving home from the Hamptons. This is Jeffrey Cane, filling in again for Aaron Weinman, who returns next week.

We will wrap up the finance highlights you might have missed over the long weekend, and we also have a special feature. Insider regularly looks at the young bankers and professionals who work on Wall Street. This morning, we have identified 16 up-and-comers in equity research.

So let's download the spreadsheets, fire up the old HP 12c, and dive right in.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app here.

1. It's a difficult time to be picking stocks: rising interest rates, persistent inflation, a war in Europe, and growing talk of a recession. And after a first brutal half of the year in the market, please do not peek at your 401(k) if you are the least bit anxious.

In such a time of turmoil, institutional investors and other clients look to Wall Street firms to provide critical insights and analysis into what stocks and sectors can outperform the overall market.

We searched for the standouts among analysts no older than 35 who work in sell-side equity research in the US. The finalists were picked from nominations submitted by colleagues, bosses, and investors. Reporters interviewed each analyst.

In our top 16: One who was among the first to cover the cannabis sector, another who covers lithium, and several who went into research after trying other corners of the finance industry.

Check out Insider's 2022 list of the rising stars of equity research here.

In other news:

2. Jefferies CEO Richard Handler sought to address employees' worries during a "yucky" period in the markets at a town hall last week. "People's concerns are deep, emotional fatigue is real, and all of us are looking for comfort and confidence about the future," the CEO wrote in a letter to staff.

3. Crypto's crash has more after-shocks: Vauld, a crypto platform backed by Coinbase and others, announced on Monday that it would suspend all withdrawals, trading, and deposits on its platform. Vauld said in a blog post that customers had withdrawn more than $197.7 million since June 12. Voyager Digital has also suspended trading, deposits, withdrawals, and loyalty rewards. And the troubled crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has filed for bankruptcy.

4. While the collapse in crypto has been brutal, it has been contained. "This contagion did not extend into the traditional banking and finance sector," Michael Hsu, the acting US comptroller of the currency, tells the Financial Times.

5. Speaking of potential contagion, risk management is again front of mind for hedge funds and their investors given the volatility in markets. An increased focus on operational risk management is the biggest shift in a decade that the investment management firm SEI found in a survey of 79 hedge fund managers and 81 investors.

6. If the finance industry starts cutting jobs, the outsourcing industry stands to benefit. "Investment firms will tighten their belts because the cost of doing business is becoming more expensive, and one way to then still get the work done and not have to pay quite as much for it is by outsourcing," Amy Lynch, founder and president of FrontLine Compliance, an outsourced compliance firm, tells Institutional Investor.

7. Jared Kushner's private-equity firm, Affinity Partners, has done its first deal, investing in Mosaic, an Oakland, Calif.-based fintech that offers financing for residential solar installations, Axios reports.

8. Sun Valley's "summer camp for billionaires" gets under way this week, as we noted on Friday. The annual Allen & Co. confab presents a logistical challenge for the local airport serving the resort town of just 1,800 year-round residents, notes the New York Times. Months before, the airport's director must prepare "to play a high-stakes, three-dimensional game of Tetris with multimillion-dollar private jets."

9. Toronto-Dominion Bank is reportedly weighing a takeover of the New York-based brokerage firm Cowen. As per Bloomberg, the Canadian bank is working with advisers to explore a deal — a move that would see Toronto-Dominion's investment banking arm extend further into equity and debt offerings as well as research.

10. The Sunshine State is luring Wall Streeters and other wealthy New Yorkers, and the luxury housing market in Palm Beach is red hot as a result. Meet the real estate broker who says he brought in $550 million in sales last year.

Done deals:

• Francisco Partners has completed its acquisition of the healthcare data and analytics assets that were part of IBM's Watson Health business. The new company will be called Merative.
• The US unit of Japan's Mizuho Financial Group has completed its acquisition of Capstone Partners, a middle-market private-equity placement agent based in Dallas.

Keep updated with the latest business news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief. Listen here.

Curated by Jeffrey Cane in New York. Tips? Email jcane@insider.com or tweet @jeffrey cane. Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.