Defending the crown they captured last year is the five-strong UBS Pactual squad led by Mexico City-based Tomas 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,rn30, "is smart and well plugged in to new information," observes one buy-side supporter. After spending last year in the runner-up position, the Bof A-Merrill duo captained by Mexico City-based Carlos Peyrelongue reclaims the No. 2 spot; Peyrelongue also guides the third-place team in Cementrn& 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.
展开▼
