Joaquín Ley & team Santander second team Andrea Teixeira & team J.P. Morgan
third team Juliana Rozenbaum & team Itaú
Joaquín Ley, 36, steers the three-member Santander team to a second straight No. 1 finish. Investors say Ley, who is based in Mexico City, has “superb timing” and “excellent stock-picking skills.” Case in point: In December the team urged clients to buy Dufry South America, a Bermuda-based company that operates duty-free shops in airports throughout the region, which it deemed undervalued at R12. The stock had flown to R27.50 by late July, an incredible 129.2 percent advance that left the sector’s 36.7 percent gain sitting on the tarmac.
Jumping from runner-up to second place is the J.P. Morgan team of four analysts led by New York–based Andrea Teixeira. The team, known by clients for its “outstanding predictions” and “unique strategic thinking,” upgraded Natura Cosméticos to buy in October, at R17.50, on improving profitability. By July 31 the shares had risen 52.3 percent, to R26.65.
A “sharp focus on details,” in the words of one money manager, helps Juliana Rozenbaum shepherd the two-strong Itaú Securities squad up one notch to third place. In March the São Paulo–based team reiterated its call for department-store chain Lojas Renner to outperform, saying fears of a consumer spending slowdown were overstated. Through July the stock was leading the sector by 29 percentage points.
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