Marcos Assumpção & team Itaú Securities
The two-member Itaú Securities team helmed by Marcos Assumpção debuts in second place. Assumpção, who led the third-ranked Merrill Lynch squad in 2008 and moved to Itaú in 2009, has “great timing on stock calls, more akin to the buy side,” explains one satisfied client. In September the São Paulo–based team urged investors to buy Fibria Celulose last September, at R29.60, in anticipation of continued improvement in pulp prices.
In March, after the stock had bolted 34.5 percent, to R39.80, the analysts downgraded it to neutral and then in June, at R29.47, downgraded it further to sell. By late July the share price had slipped to R27.94.
