< The 2015 Latin America Research Team
Total Appearances: 11
Team Debut: 2003Antonio Junqueira, 32, and his BTG Pactual teammates “are smart, hardworking and give clients good service,” one admirer declares. The four researchers extend their winning streak to a third year, garnering further praise from another investment manager for “consistently hitting more points than the others and staying ahead of the news.” Junqueira, 32, is based in New York, and together with colleagues in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and São Paulo, he reports on 28 regional utilities names. In November the researchers raised their rating on Brazil’s Eletropaulo Metropolitana Eletricidade de São Paulo, better known as AES Eletropaulo, from neutral to buy, believing that market participants were undervaluing inputs from regulatory changes. Sure enough, through mid-July shares of the electricity generator had more than doubled, soaring 126.7 percent, to 17.50 reais, during a period in which the regional sector ended flat. AES Eletropaulo remains a BTG favorite, with a target price of 18 reais. Junqueira and his cohorts are also sticking with Brazilian power generation and distribution company Equatorial Energia, a long-standing favorite that they recommend investors prefer on the strength of its demand base. Over the 12 months through mid-July, the stock outperformed its Latin American peers by 52.3 percentage points, leaping 44.9 percent to close at 37 reais. BTG’s squad believes that a price of 38 reais is justified. “Their early, accurate call on electric distribution concessions was impressive,” avers one Brazil-based buy-sider.
