Question: What do such industries as Cement & Construction, Real Estate and Technology, Media & Telecommunications have in common with Mexico?
Answer: Gordon Lee. The BTG Pactual analyst leads or co-leads teams covering all of these sectors. Since 1999, when he debuted as a runner-up in Cement & Construction, the New York–based analyst has racked up 26 appearances — and led top-ranked teams 13 times — on behalf of Deutsche Bank Securities; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; UBS; and since 2012, BTG Pactual. With Marcello Milman he shepherds squads to first place in Cement & Construction and Real Estate, as he did last year and the year before, and with Carlos Eduardo Sequeira helms a crew that earns a runner-up spot in Technology, Media & Telecommunications. He also guides a team that claims a runner-up spot for reporting on Mexico.
Lee and his teammates cover 85 companies across the four categories, and he is the lead analyst on ten of them. “I also do Mexico strategy, which allows me to speak about a much broader universe of Mexican stocks,” he explains.
“The most challenging part of covering multiple sectors plus Mexico strategy is that it is impossible to have the depth that sector-focused analysts can develop,” he observes. “For instance, we were among the first houses to begin coverage of [fideicomiso de infraestructura en bienes raíces, or real estate investment trusts] in Mexico and now cover three of them — likely expanding to five or six by year end. Since then, initial public offer activity in the sector has significantly expanded the universe of stocks, and a few analysts now cover all or virtually all of them. Since I cover other sectors plus Mexico as a whole — and, as a result, I will over time add specific stocks from even more sectors — my ability to look at each and every stock of all the sectors I look at is limited. I simply do not have the bandwidth.”
There is an upside, however. “This lack of bandwidth forces us to pick our spots and focus our coverage on those stocks that we believe are interesting and where there are opportunities for our clients to make money, which is more rewarding than simply covering a stock in a particular sector because ‘we have to round out our sector coverage,’” Lee adds. “Also, the depth of a sector analyst typically comes at the cost of developing tunnel vision. As a strategist, having a broader view is very useful.”
Lee is not the only multitasker to appear on the Latin America Research Team, Institutional Investor’s 22nd annual ranking of the region’s best sell-side analysts. In fact, five analysts are leaders or co-leaders of four teams each. BTG Pactual’s Alonso Aramburú directs, with César Pérez-Novoa, squads that land in first and second place, respectively, for coverage of Chile and North Andean Countries. Aramburú also shepherds (with Eduardo Rosman) crews that earn runner-up spots in the two Financials sectors, Banks and Nonbanks.
Pérez-Novoa also co-captains (with Edmo Chagas) troupes that rank second and third, respectively, in Pulp & Paper and Metals & Mining.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Carlos Peyrelongue co-directs (with Carlos Capistran) the team considered the best at reporting on Mexico; (with Guilherme Vilazante) squads that capture second and third place, respectively, in Cement & Construction and Real Estate; and (with Francisco Rodríguez) a group that earns a runner-up spot for its monitoring of North Andean Countries.
Morgan Stanley’s Guilherme Paiva leads teams to No. 1 in Equity Strategy and runner-up for coverage of Brazil, and co-manages (with Cesar Medina) crews in second place and runner-up, respectively, for reporting on Chile and Argentina.
There is another benefit to overseeing multiple sectors, Lee notes. “Switching from one type of business to another on a regular basis is refreshing,” he says. “It makes the job less monotonous and more fun.”
