Countries: Chile – Third - 2012

Alonso Aramburú, César Pérez-Novoa & teamBTG Pactual

Santiago-based César Pérez-Novoa steered Celfin Capital’s team to a runner-up finish last year. BTG Capital acquired that firm in February, and Pérez-Novoa and New York–based newcomer Alonso Aramburú pilot the newly merged, six-member squad to third place; they also co-lead the crew deemed the best at coverage of North Andean Countries, and Aramburú helms a team that takes a runner-up spot for coverage of Argentina. “It’s a great new combination of BTG and Celfin, and they’re providing superior coverage,” says one enthusiastic buy-sider. “César knows the market better than anyone in the country — he’s been doing this for about 15 years now — and Aramburú’s addition has bolstered an already-strong Chilean franchise that covers stocks in-depth and has better corporate access than most other analysts.” The team is bullish on Santiago-based retailer Falabella, which operates department stores in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, on strong growth prospects — particularly in the latter two markets. The researchers also recommend Santiago’s Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, Chile’s largest electric utility, on the belief that the company’s capacity increase is more than sufficient to meet rising demand. — Paul Sweeney

RUNNER(S)-UPFrancisco Errandonea & team Santander