Saul Martinez & team  J.P. Morgan

In second place is the three-member J.P. Morgan team under the direction of New York–based Saul Martinez. The analysts, who were ranked third last year in Financial Institutions, win praise for their long-standing buy on Credicorp, Peru’s largest financial services holding company, on its dominance in a growing market.

The stock, first recommended all the way back in November 2008, has since skyrocketed 138.9 percent, from $40.73 to $97.30, through July 2010. Martinez “knows and understands Latin American banks better than anyone else in the business,” insists one buy-side enthusiast.