Robert Ford & team Bank of America Merrill Lynch First-place appearances: 5

Total appearances: 21

Team debut: 2994 Robert Ford has appeared on this lineup every year since 1993, when the Latin America Research Team was introduced. In 1994 he planted the Merrill Lynch flag for the first time and has reliably flown the colors ever since, shepherding his team of four Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts in New York and São Paulo up to third place from runner-up this year. The researchers keep tabs on 20 companies and plan to expand their coverage universe, Ford reports. They produce “very interesting, thought-provoking reports,” in the words of one investor, and are somewhat subdued on the prospects for Latin America’s retailers in the year ahead. “A tougher tax environment in Mexico and Chile, slowing public sector spending and higher interest rates in Brazil, and more restrictive global monetary policy appear likely to hinder consumers throughout the region in 2015,” Ford says. “This year we have favored stocks which we felt had exposure to consolidation, self-help opportunities, or which were staples oriented. We’ll see how valuations and regional policy play out over the balance of 2014, but those themes could continue to be important factors in 2015.”