SECOND TEAM
Guilherme Paiva & team Morgan Stanley
Climbing one rung to second place is the Morgan Stanley quintet headed by Guilherme Paiva, who “is different from other strategists — he is very pro-active and searches for different approaches for the same events, adding good opinions and insights,” asserts one portfolio manager. The New York–based Paiva, who also captains the No. 2 team in Brazil and co-leads the No. 2 team in Mexico, and his associates advised clients to buy Copa Holdings in November, at $49.33; the Panama City, Panama–based outfit is the parent company of low-cost air carriers Copa Airlines, which operates out of Panama, and Copa Airlines Colombia. The strategists liked the stock’s attractive valuation and the company’s growth prospects, especially in light of the improved competitive environment that they believed would emerge after Chile’s Lan Airlines finalized its acquisition of Bogota, Colombia–based Aerovías de Integración Regional later that month. In late June, after the stock had flown 35.8 percent, to $66.99, the team told investors to take profits. By the end of July, the shares had drifted back down to $65.61.