< The 2015 Latin America Research Team

Total Appearances: 15

Team Debut: 1996At No. 1 for a second consecutive year is the J.P. Morgan troupe led by New York–based Andrea Teixeira, who appears on two additional rosters this year. In Food & Beverages she guides a squad to second place, and her Health Care group garners a runner-up position. In this space Teixeira and her five teammates “won a good reputation on the Street due to their hard work and objective conclusions,” avers one portfolio manager. Investors also hail their insights into the sector’s major players and their forecasting accuracy. Covering 39 regional retailing stocks, the team holds a mixed view on the sector. “We are optimistic on Mexico’s retailers, given evidence of a consumption pickup driven by real-wage increases, formalization and favorable demographics,” advises Teixeira, 41. “On the other hand, we are cautious on Brazil retail, given increased unemployment, lower consumer and business confidence, and higher interest rates, which are curbing consumption. In the Andeans consumption has been decelerating — yet we are positive on the Chilean retailers, which continue to execute well despite the top-down challenges.” Accordingly, the researchers are urging investors to buy top picks Liverpool in Mexico and Lojas Renner of Brazil. They elevated department store operator Liverpool to overweight from neutral in June 2014 and have kept the bullish rating ever since. Its stock had jumped 30.9 percent, to 192.99 pesos, by the middle of last month, outpacing the regional sector by 24.5 percentage points. The team forecasts a further increase to 207 pesos. Clothier Lojas Renner saw its rating likewise bumped to overweight in February. Despite their circumspection on the domestic market, the analysts believe that solid retail execution and a strong value proposition for Renner’s customers should enable it to continue to outperform. They assign the shares a price objective of 139 reais, which implies a 22.3 percent upside to their value in mid-July. At that time, Renner had already soared 40.8 percent since their rating upgrade, against the 9.5 percent gain by Latin America’s retailers overall. “I like the color they include in their notes, and discussions with them are really interesting,” remarks another admirer.