< The 2015 Latin America Research Team
Gordon Lee, Marcello Milman & teamBTG PactualFirst-Place Appearances: 7
Total Appearances: 8
Team Debut: 2007For a fourth year running, New York–based Gordon Lee and Marcello Milman in São Paulo navigate their BTG Pactual crew to the top spot — and little wonder. “The BTG team makes strong calls, understands market variables, has the most robust models and is always accessible,” one investor cheers. A fund manager in Connecticut similarly hails their “comprehensive views on both the micro and macro levels.” Milman, 34, and 42-year-old Lee also oversee a squad that secures second place on the Real Estate roster; and as he did last year, Lee directs one group that merits a runner-up position on the Mexico lineup and another, with co-captain Carlos Eduardo Sequeira, that earns the same position on the Technology, Media & Telecommunications list. With additional offices in Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the six researchers covering Latin America’s cement and construction names track 36 companies. A favorite among those names is Cementos Argos, largely owing to the Colombian cement producer’s exposure to U.S. markets. In April they reiterated their buy rating on the stock — maintained since the team reinstated coverage in July 2013, deeming the shares a bargain at 7,990 pesos — citing in part its potential to benefit from the devaluation of the local currency against the dollar. It climbed 11.3 percent during that period, against the regional sector’s gain of 9 percent. By the middle of last month, the shares had advanced 5.2 percent further, to 9,350 pesos, besting their peers by 6.5 percentage points. BTG’s analysts maintain a price target of 10,900 pesos for Cementos Argos. “They are the first house I reach out to when I have a question,” reports another backer.