Thiago Lofiego & team Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Holding steady in second place for a second straight year is the Bank of America Merrill Lynch threesome under the direction of São Paulo–based Thiago Lofiego. “They have energy and staying power, which have helped us make money,” affirms one buy-side backer. The analysts, who follow 13 companies, also win praise for an August 2011 downgrade of Brazil’s Suzano Papel e Celulose from neutral to underperform, at 8.20 reais, largely on its sizable balance-sheet debt and limited cash flow generation. By the middle of July, the specialty-paper manufacturer’s shares had crumpled to 4.12 reais, for a staggering 49.8 percent plunge that trailed the sector by 51.3 percentage points. — Ben Mattlin