Ivy Zelman, a blunt-speaking bearish analyst with a knack for spotting signs of trouble in the housing market, is resigning from her position at Credit Suisse Group.
Ms. Zelman, who has worked at the financial-services company for nearly 10 years, says she is leaving to pursue more “entrepreneurial” and lucrative opportunities in the housing sector, though she has no formal offer at the moment.
Known for her probing questions to home-builder executives during earnings conference calls, Ms. Zelman focused on issues such as a flood of speculators in the new-home market, an oversupply of land and problems posed by subprime mortgages. She challenged bullish home builders and analysts, who believed home sales would keep roaring despite signs of speculative excess. After relatively upbeat statements by Toll Brothers Inc. chief executive Robert Toll during a conference call last December, she asked, “I am wondering which Kool-Aid you’re drinking?”
She was ranked the top home-builder analyst in The Wall Street Journal’s 2006 “Best on the Street” analyst survey. Before Credit Suisse, she worked at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup Inc.) first in investment banking and later as equity analyst, focusing on housing.
Credit Suisse said Ms. Zelman is leaving on good terms. The firm declined to say how much she was paid. “Ivy personifies great propriety research, intense conviction and unmatched competitive spirit. She helped develop some of the strongest people we have in the department,” said Lara Warner, managing director and director of U.S. equity research at Credit Suisse.
