Pedro Martins Jr. & team BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research
The BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research trio rises one rung to second place, this year led solely by Pedro Martins Jr. after Fanny Oreng left in October to cover homebuilding stocks. In January the São Paulo–based researchers issued an optimistic assessment of Chile, quieting fears that the upcoming runoff election later that month between presidential contenders Sebastián Piñera (who would go on to win) and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle would mean an end to the meteoric rise of the benchmark Índice de Precio Selectivo de Acciones, and they urged clients to stay invested. Good advice. Already up 50.9 percent in 2009, year-to-date through July the index surged an additional 21.9 percent. “Pedro remains calm when others are in crisis,” observes one backer.
