Rodrigo Góes, Renato Mimica & team BTG Pactual

The buy side says: “This is a good team that keeps getting better and better.”

In first place for a second straight year is the BTG Pactual trio under the guidance of Rodrigo Góes, 39, and newcomer Renato Mimica, 27; they also direct the No. 3 team in Capital Goods. The São Paulo–based crew has a reputation for “comprehensive coverage that’s expanding in scope while maintaining high-quality depth,” according to one investor. The analysts follow 20 companies, with more to come in the year ahead, Góes reports. Clients applaud their September 2011 upgrade of Brazil’s CCR from neutral to buy, at 11.48 reais, largely on its strong, stable earnings from toll-road collections. Shares of the São Paulo–based highway manager jumped 40.8 percent, to 16.16 reais, through mid-July. The researchers continue to recommend the stock. Mimica, who joined the firm in June 2011 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo at Fundação Getulio Vargas. — Ben Mattlin