Mexico

Tomás Lajous & teamUBS Pactual

second teamCarlos Peyrelongue & teamBofA–Merrill Lynch

third teamGonzalo Fernández & teamSantander

Defending the crown they captured last year is the five-strong UBS Pactual squad led by Mexico City–based Tomás Lajous. In April the team elevated Grupo Financiero Banorte to top pick, saying the bank’s shares were bargain-priced at 21.70 pesos. By late July the stock had catapulted to 32.57 Mexican pesos, a 50.1 percent gain that was more than double the 23.5 percent advance of Mexico’s broad market. Lajous, 30, “is smart and well plugged in to new information,” observes one buy-side supporter.

After spending last year in the runner-up position, the BofA-Merrill duo captained by Mexico City–based Carlos Peyrelongue reclaims the No. 2 spot; Peyrelongue also guides the third-place team in Cement & Construction. The analysts predicted in March that a plan by state-authorized pension funds to invest exclusively in Mexican securities for 12 months would be approved and spark a market rally. They were right. Mexico’s benchmark index, which had been down 15.7 percent for the year at the time of the prediction, has since surged 43.4 percent, through July 31.

Down one notch to third place is Santander’s eight-member crew helmed by Mexico City–based Gonzalo Fernández. In January the team added Corp. GEO to its list of top stocks for 2009, citing government guarantees to provide home-loan financing. Through July the developer’s shares skyrocketed 81.7 percent.

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