Pedro Martins Jr. & team J.P. Morgan First-place appearances: 3
Total appearances: 23
Team debut: 1993 Pedro Martins Jr. guides his J.P. Morgan troupe up one spot on this list to No. 2. Working from offices in Mexico City, Santiago and São Paulo, the four strategists are focused on positioning investors for stronger U.S. economic growth, which creates a tailwind for export-oriented countries in the region as well as those, like Mexico, that are more directly linked to America. Mexican sectors most correlated to U.S. equities — such as consumer discretionary, financials and materials — are particularly well poised to benefit from robust expansion by the U.S., the squad advises. In addition, longer-term foreign exchange implications lead the analysts to be positive on the Mexican peso and cautious on the Brazilian real. Overall, they maintain a bullish stance on Mexico over the medium term, thanks to forecasts for stronger growth and currency appreciation, but a neutral position in the interim. Earnings growth forecasts are “too high considering economic dynamics,” explains Martins, “and thus subject to downside, which likely would pressure already-high valuations.” These J.P. Morgan researchers also recommend that investors overweight Peru, citing ongoing strength in the country’s mining sector and a potential boost to expansion from “credit, retail penetration, infrastructure and formal labor,” he says.