Country Sectors: Iberia

Mariano Colmenar & teamSantander

second teamBosco Ojeda & teamUBS

third teamFrancisco Riquel & teamCA Cheuvreux

Newcomer Mariano Colmenar guides the 23-member Santander Investment Bolsa squad to its first time on top since 2007. The Madrid-based troupe, which spent the past two years in second place, has “the best local knowledge in a market that’s not always easy to understand,” says one approving investor. Supporters applaud the team’s yearlong valuation-based buy on Técnicas Reunidas, an outfit headquartered in Madrid that designs and constructs industrial power plants and refineries. The stock skyrocketed 130 percent last year, from €17.45 to €40.13, trumping Spain’s broad market by 97.8 percentage points. Colmenar, 48, received an MBA from the University of San Francisco’s McLaren School of Business in 1989; as an analyst, he covered Spain and European banks for Paribas Capital Markets and Credit Suisse, respectively, before joining Santander in 2007. After two years at No. 1, the UBS trio led by Bosco Ojeda drops to No. 2. “Their contacts with management are better than most,” observes one longtime client. Headquartered in Madrid, the team also garners praise for its yearlong sell recommendation on SOS Corp. Alimentaria, one of Spain’s largest food distributors, on concerns of overvaluation and a weak balance sheet. The stock plummeted 80.7 percent in 2009 and trailed Spain’s broad market by a stunning 112.9 points. Unranked last year, the six-member CA Cheuvreux crew helmed by Francisco Riquel takes third. Two of the Madrid-based team’s best calls of late were yearlong buy recommendations on Spain’s Banco Santander and infrastructure services provider Ferrovial, both on valuation. The stocks soared 89.7 and 54.7 percent, respectively, in 2009.

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