< The 2015 Latin America Research Team
Total appearances: 3
Team debut: 2013In its third appearance on this roster, Bradesco Corretora secures the No. 2 position, rising from runner-up after two years. Rafael Frade, 33, leads the firm’s coverage of Latin American health care companies, overseeing a three-person squad that wins investor plaudits for its “intelligence, industry savvy and careful market analyses,” as one fund manager puts it. Frade, who graduated from Brazil’s Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, joined the firm in July 2008 from local brokerage Valora, where he was a financial adviser. He previously worked as a business analyst at engineering concern Promon Engenharia and this year earned a master’s degree in economics from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas in São Paulo. In January he and his crew dubbed Brazil’s BB Seguridade Participações an outperformer, upgrading their rating on the stock from market perform. The insurance broking arm of Banco do Brasil, the nation’s biggest bank, is a “premium player, with one of the best distribution channels and large exposure to the best products,” the researchers advised at the time. By mid-July, BB Seguridade’s shares had jumped 16.6 percent, to 33.16 reais, besting the region’s health care sector by 31 percentage points. They remain recommended with a target price of 36 reais.
