Fernando Ferreira Bank of America Merrill Lynch First-place appearances: 1
Total appearances: 6
Team debut: 2009 Repeating in third place on this lineup — and claiming the No. 2 position in Food & Beverages — is São Paulo–based Bank of America Merrill Lynch researcher Fernando Ferreira. “Fernando is always helpful in answering my questions and is able to distill all the information down and provide me with easily understandable answers and good insight on the agribusiness names, based on his dialogue with the consumer companies that are under his coverage,” one money manager attests. Big names in this sector have delivered variable returns of late, the analyst notes. For example, sugarcane processor São Martinho of São Paulo bolted 32.3 percent year to date through July, to 37.98 reais, São Paulo–based energy giant Cosan fell 6.1 percent, to 37.17 reais, and Rio Grande do Sul–based farmland operator SLC Agrícola tumbled 16.9 percent, to 16.95 reais. Over the same period, Brazil’s broad market climbed 5.2 percent. Accordingly, although in general he prefers ethanol and sugar providers over grain and fertilizer producers, clients are advised to focus on company particulars, Ferreira says.