Francisco Errandonea & team  Santander

After six years in the top spot, the past two under the guidance of Francisco Errandonea, Santander’s five-member squad slips to second place but continues to garner accolades from investors for its “unique recommendations and accurate, real-time market data,” as one portfolio manager puts it. In December the Santiago-based crew upgraded Banco de Crédito e Inversiones from hold to buy, at 15,743.53 Chilean pesos, because of anticipated growth in consumer lending. Through July the commercial bank’s shares surged a heart-stopping 73.8 percent, to 27,356 pesos.