Total appearances: 22

Team debut: 1993 After two years in second place, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reclaims the top spot on this lineup. From their base in Mexico City, Carlos Peyrelongue and newcomer Carlos Capistran together lead four analysts who represent the “best team, [with the] best local color [and the] deepest connections on the ground,” in the opinion of one fund manager. The researchers increased their coverage of Mexico’s shares by six names in 2013, raising their total to 14, and they plan to add as many as four more over the next few months. “Appetite for research on Mexican stocks continues to increase among investors as structural reforms continue to unlock investment opportunities,” explains Peyrelongue, 45. Given the strengthening of the domestic economy and the improving U.S. housing market, BofA Merrill’s troupe is advising clients to focus on the country’s industrials, materials and real estate sectors. One favorite on that theme is Mexico City–based Empresas ICA, which the analysts raised from sell to buy in April. The market had grown too bearish on the direction of government spending, they believed, and Mexico’s largest engineering and construction concern would be a big beneficiary once government spending did substantially increase. Indeed, by late July, Empresas’ shares had jumped 14.2 percent, to 24.67 pesos, besting the Mexican market by 5.1 percentage points. On the flip side, they caution, clients should avoid consumer discretionary and staples names. “The Mexican consumer is still experiencing headwinds,” Peyrelongue notes, “and a recovery in consumption patterns could take longer than anticipated.” This year the researcher also co-leads, with Guilherme Vilazante, the No. 2 Cement & Construction team and the third-place squad in Real Estate; with Francisco Rodríguez, he co-captains a group that wins a runner-up spot for its coverage of North Andean Countries. His co-leader joined BofA Merrill in 2011. Capistran, 40, previously worked as an economist at the Banco de México and an analyst and head of tax policy evaluation at the country’s Ministry of Finance. He earned three economics degrees: a bachelor’s from Mexico City’s Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México then a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego.