Ben Laidler & team HSBC First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 2
Team debut: 1993 After a 20-year absence, HSBC returns to this lineup in third place — the same position it claimed in 1993. The firm’s four strategists, captained by New York–based sector newcomer Ben Laidler, win investor praise for providing “nonconsensus calls with good background research,” as one advocate affirms. Forecasts for gross domestic product growth across Latin America have been falling, notes Laidler, which is exerting pressure on earnings estimates. At the same time, he adds, “the policy environment remains important, with the government’s structural reform agenda in Mexico, new governments in Chile and Colombia and upcoming elections in Brazil and, later, in Argentina.” Against this backdrop, the researchers are advising investors to overweight Mexico, “given the cyclical recovery in gross domestic product, the government’s reform agenda, valuations that are not as expensive as they seem and the outlook for a possible earnings surprise in 2015.” They also favor overweighting the consumer staples and financials sectors, because these companies offer some relative value and defensive earnings. Laidler is based in New York, while his teammates work from Mexico City, New York and São Paulo.