Gordian Kemen
& team
HSBC
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 1

Team debut: 2013

New York–based newcomer Gordian Kemen guides HSBC’s five-member crew to a third-place debut. “The quality and depth of analysis that the team provides stand out in a field filled with excellent research teams,” declares one money manager. The strategists are urging clients to overweight the sovereign debt of Mexico, given its “strong structural reform momentum and valuations, which are quite attractive now — certainly vis-à-vis U.S. rates,” Kemen explains, and underweight that of Brazil, “which is somewhat falling behind and has a much more complicated backdrop.” A key issue for investors is whether “these unprecedented inflows that we have seen in the asset class will be sticky, or will there be a complete reversal?” he asks. Kemen and his colleagues believe the answer lies somewhere in the middle because a dedicated investment base is becoming a more important part of the flow story. This year he also co-leads, with Alejandro Martinez-Cruz, a squad that earns a runner-up position in Local-Markets Strategy. — Carolyn Koo