Luiz Otávio Campos, Gustavo Wigman & team Credit Suisse
The buy side says: “They’ve helped us make money.”
T he three-strong crew at Credit Suisse vaults from runner-up to claim the top spot for the first time since 2008. Co-directed by Luiz Otávio Campos, 34, and newcomer Gustavo Wigman, 36, the São Paulo–based analysts actively track a mere six stocks but do so with an “uncompromising attention to detail,” as one client puts it. In September 2011 they pounded the table on Brazil’s Cosan, at 23.90 reais, confident that a tight sugar supply would keep prices high. (They had rated the sugarcane grower an outperform since relaunching coverage in April 2010, presciently anticipating price hikes.) Through mid-July 2012 the stock jumped 28.4 percent, to 30.69 reais, since the reiteration. Wigman, who also co-leads a runner-up team in Food & Beverages, joined the firm in December from Goldman, Sachs & Co. armed with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural engineering from São Paulo’s Universidade Estadual de Campinas and a master’s degree in finance from the Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais. — Ben Mattlin