Alexandre Müller
& team
BTG Pactual
First-place appearances: 1

Total appearances: 2

Team debut: 2012

BTG Pactual’s group of five slips from first place to second but maintains an avid following. “They provide superior client access, and their research is always very clear,” maintains one buy-side supporter. The crew is headed by São Paulo–based Alexandre Müller, who also directs teams that claim third place in Corporate Debt and a runner-up spot in Sovereign Debt. The strategists are endorsing short-duration, high-yield bonds in Chile and Peru, owing to manageable inflation and robust gross domestic product growth in those markets. “Most of the Brazilian companies that have outstanding bonds in the market are exporters, so they are more dependent on global commodities prices,” Müller explains. “In Chile and Peru there are more companies leveraged to the domestic markets, which are not so impacted by the slowdown in China and these types of global issues.” One nascent regional market that’s piquing investor interest is Colombia, which has seen increasing debt issuance, especially from banks. It’s only a matter of time before more companies tap the market, and Müller believes that 2014 will be “a very promising year.” — Carolyn Koo