2015 All-Latin America Research Team: Health Care, No. 3: Thiago Capucci Macruz & team

<The 2015 Latin America Research Team Thiago Capucci Macruz & teamItaú BBAFirst-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 5

Team debut: 2008

Thiago Capucci Macruz’s Itaú BBA trio finishes in third place, down one position since last year. Monitoring four stocks in the space from offices in São Paulo, the researchers are known for their ability to “connect the dots way ahead of the competition,” one investment manager reports. Clients also highlight their coverage of Brazil-based medical laboratories operator Fleury. Macruz and his colleagues predicted in October that management’s ongoing cost-cutting efforts will boost profits, and they upgraded their rating on the stock from market perform to outperform. Sure enough, by the middle of last month, the stock had jumped 31.4 percent, to 18.26 reais, against the 20.5 percent decline by Latin America’s health care shares overall. “Thiago has outstanding sector knowledge,” cheers another client. “He’s my go-to analyst in this sector.” Macruz, 30, also co-heads, with Joaquín Ley, a squad that merits a runner-up position on the Retailing lineup.