2015 All-Latin America Research Team: Brazil, No. 3: Emy Shayo Cherman, Cassiana Fernandez & team

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< The 2015 Latin America Research Team

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Emy Shayo Cherman, Cassiana Fernandez & teamJ.P. MorganFirst-place appearances: 3

Total appearances: 19

Team debut: 1994Emy Shayo Cherman and newcomer Cassiana Fernandez oversee J.P. Morgan’s seven-person squad, which slips from first place to third. Despite their decline, the São Paulo–headquartered researchers retain a dedicated fan base. “They consistently live up to their reputation as very intelligent and very detail oriented,” avers one investor. A second admirer adds that “their work is very timely and insightful; they’re always ahead of the curve on downgrading a stock; and they’re concise. They tell you what you need to know and don’t waste your time.” In part thanks to the 198.4 billion reais ($64 billion) infrastructure spending package Brazil’s government announced in June, the analysts expect São Paulo–based transportation concessionaire CCR to deliver strong performance, assigning it an overweight rating. The company stands to benefit from “an extremely positive environment not witnessed in a long time,” says Cherman, 42, including the expected easing of interest rates, to which CCR is especially sensitive. As a consequence, moreover, of the ongoing kickback scandal known as Lava Jato, or Car Wash, involving state-controlled energy giant Petróleo Brasileiro, “companies might find it more difficult to access the debt market, thus creating M&A opportunities” for CCR, she adds. The stock closed at 15.50 reais in mid-July, and the crew projects a rise to 16.50 reais by year’s end. Fernandez, 38, became J.P. Morgan’s chief economist for Brazil in October. She joined the firm’s emerging-markets research team in June 2011, after working for five years as an economist at a local hedge fund, Maua Sekular Investimentos. Previously, she served the same function at the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social, or BNDES, and at a consulting firm. Fernandez earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in economics from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, where she also taught the subject to undergraduates, and the Universidade de São Paulo, respectively.

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