Total appearances: 16

Team debut: 1998 Hailed by one fund manager as “true independent thinkers,” the two-member force at Bank of America Merrill Lynch repeats in first place. The São Paulo–based duo led by 31-year-old Thiago Lofiego monitors six regional pulp and paper stocks and more names in Metals & Mining, where it captures a runner-up position this year. Backers highlight the crew’s tracking of Chilean industry leader Empresas CMPC. The analysts downgraded the shares from neutral to underperform in February 2012, deeming them overvalued at 2,163.95 Chilean pesos. By January 2014, CMPC had tumbled 47.3 percent, trailing its Latin American peers by 39.9 percentage points, and they boosted their rating to neutral. In upgrading, they cited valuation and the diversity of the packaging, pulp and tissue producer’s customer base. Through late July the stock rose 13.8 percent, to 1,207.90 pesos, against the broad market’s 6.4 percent loss. More recently, in April, BofA Merrill’s researchers lowered their rating on Brazil’s Duratex from buy to neutral, citing declining demand for the manufacturer of wood panels and metal fittings. The share price had fallen from 10.57 reais to 8.56 reais by late July. “Thiago and team have great local expertise,” attests another fan.