Carlos Eduardo Sequeira & team BTG Pactual
Unranked last year, the BTG Pactual quartet conducted by Carlos Eduardo Sequeira glides into second place; Sequeira also helms the team that ranks third for coverage of Brazil. In January, after the Mexico-listed shares of NII Holdings — a U.S.-based company that provides wireless communications services throughout Latin America — had plunged nearly 39 percent the previous year, the Rio de Janeiro–based analysts reiterated their neutral rating, on doubts about NII’s ability to move into third-generation service given the region’s inadequate infrastructure. The stock had plummeted another 61.3 percent by mid-July; during the same period the broad market gained 1.8 percent. “They could have downgraded it further, but their comments were clear and they kept us out of the stock,” relates one grateful portfolio manager. The researchers currently report on ten companies and are cautious on the telecoms subsector for the remainder of the year. — Ben Mattlin