Industries – Real Estate: Second

Leaping from runner-up to the second tier is São Paulo–based Luiz Maurício Garcia. The Bradesco Corretora researcher monitors 15 stocks, three more than last year, and comes across as a “solid fundamentals analyst who can pick stocks,” as one portfolio manager puts it. Garcia pegged São Paulo’s Helbor Empreendimentos as a top pick way back in November 2011 and urged clients to overweight the shares, then at 5.64 reais, thanks to management’s emphasis on profitability over growth. The stock climbed to 10.72 reais in April 2013 before being dragged down by market turbulence; in mid-July it was trading at 8.39 reais — a still-impressive 48.8 percent gain at a time when the sector rose just 7.8 percent. The analyst initiated coverage on Belo Horizonte–based homebuilder Direcional Engenharia in April 2012 with an outperform rating, at 10.04 reais, citing improving profitability. Those shares traded as high as 16.50 reais in May 2013 before tumbling — but they were still up 23.5 percent, to 12.40 reais, and ahead of the sector by 30 percentage points, as of mid-July. Garcia continues to recommend both stocks.— Ben Mattlin