Anne Milne & team Bank of America Merrill Lynch First-place appearances: 3

Total appearances: 13

Team debut: 1993 Lauded by one fund manager for providing “comprehensive coverage” of emerging-markets corporate debt issuers, Anne Milne leads her Bank of America Merrill Lynch crew to a second straight No. 2 finish. The eight analysts, dubbed an “outstanding” team by another by-side fan, identify U.S. interest rates as the likely key driver of positive performance in the second half of this year, as they were in the first six months. In particular, they forecast that the region’s corporate bonds will “continue outperforming if rates do not move substantially through year end, given higher carry,” New York–based Milne explains, and are apt to “underperform through year end if interest rates rise substantially.” Even if the latter scenario were to occur, however, the researchers believe that regional corporate credits will deliver positive full-year results, thanks to strong performance in the first half. They recommend that clients overweight Brazil’s investment-grade bonds, as well as the high-yield segments in that country and Argentina. This is “a good time to transition into shorter-duration bonds, which have lagged year-to-date but should outperform through year end,” the team leader adds. She and her BofA Merrill colleagues advocate a market-weight position on the high-yield and investment-grade credits of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.