The 2014 Latin America Research Team: Local-Markets Strategy, No. 2: David Beker, Claudio Irigoyen & team

David Beker, Claudio Irigoyen & team Bank of America Merrill Lynch First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 3

Team debut: 1995

David Bekerin São Paulo and New York–basedClaudio Irigoyentogether steer their Bank of America Merrill Lynch crew up to second place from No. 3. “I appreciate their straightforward views,” says one investor. The strategists are recommending that clients, as a general rule, avoid directional risk driven by the level of U.S. interest rates or the dollar. They prefer relative-value to outright trades, such as flatteners in Mexico, steepeners in Brazil and a long position on Mexico’s currency versus Chile’s. The BofA Merrill analysts also predict that investment inflows into emerging markets — those of Latin America, in particular — will continue, dubbing these markets still underowned. “However,” cautions Irigoyen, “we expect rates to trade following the dynamics of U.S. rates. So we expect some correction in risk premium as U.S. rates move higher following a pickup in economic activity” in the second half of 2014. This year, Beker also co-captains, with Marcos Buscaglia, the second-place team in Economics; with Felipe Hirai, he guides a crew that merits a runner-up spot in Brazil coverage. Irigoyen teams with Jane Brauer in heading the top-ranked crew in Sovereign Debt.