Marcelo Telles
Credit Suisse
First-place appearances: 1

Total appearances: 4

Team debut: 2010

Credit Suisse’s Marcelo Telles returns to second place after a year at No. 1. The São Paulo–based analyst expects Brazilian banks to outperform the broad market this year, thanks to “a significant valuation cushion and the resumption of earnings growth after a long period of decline and despite still-lackluster economic performance.” Investors must be selective, however. He is especially bullish on Itaú Unibanco Holding, a diversified financial services firm headquartered in São Paulo. “Itaú is at a turning point after several quarters of deterioration and should return to an earnings growth mode as early as the second quarter,” he told Institutional Investor in June — and he was right. In August the bank reported that net income for the April-through-June period rose more than 8 percent year over year, to 3.58 billion reais ($1.73 billion). Telles is “consistently one step ahead of the curve,” cheers one portfolio manager. — Leslie Kramer