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Agenda09.05 - 09.25EST09.25 - 09.35EST
Latam Sovereign Outlook: Credit Risks and Policy Implications of Social Challenges
Our outlook for Latin American (LatAm) and Caribbean sovereign creditworthiness as the region faces sluggish economic growth, higher borrowing costs and a backdrop of a persistent increase in the cost of living and increased social demands that will lead to difficult policy choices. Already stretched fiscal balance sheets will face challenging policy tradeoffs that will likely favor social spending, leaving little fiscal space for public investment including expenditures on cleaner technologies, sidelining environmental concerns.
09.35 - 10.15ESTWhat to Expect from the Credit Markets in 2023?
- High inflation, lower growth, political uncertainties: which is the biggest risk for LatAm issuers?
- Winners and losers: examining sector performance
- Investment strategies: how to handle market volatility?
- Incorporating climate risk in asset allocation decisions
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SpeakersMarianna Waltz Managing Director - Head of LatAm Ratings and Research Moody's Ratings
Atsi Sheth Managing Director, Chief Credit Officer and Global Head of Credit Strategy & Standards Moody's Ratings
Martín Fernández Romero Managing Director Moody's Local
Xavier Vegas Head of Global Credit Strategy Global Wealth Management, J.P.Morgan
Ricardo Torresi Managing Director, Regional Investment Manager - Latin America Zurich Global Investment Management
Alejo Czerwonko Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer - Emerging Markets Americas UBS Global Wealth Management
Melvin Escudero President, El Dorado Investments & Director, CFA Society Peru
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Alejo is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Emerging Markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, based in New York.
In this capacity, Alejo leads a team of analysts focusing on emerging economies, influencing the allocation of billions of dollars of the firm's assets under management. As a member of two management forums at UBS, he helps set the strategic direction of the business.
Alejo is also a professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, where he teaches on capital markets in developing economies.
Outside of business and academia, Alejo helps shape the policy debate impacting emerging markets through his involvement with leading global think tanks. He has been named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Wilson Center's Latin America Program and a Millennium Leadership Fellow by the Atlantic Council.
He frequently appears on Bloomberg Television, CNBC, and CNN, and regularly contributes to financial publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal.
Alejo earned a PhD in economics from Columbia University. He also holds degrees in economics and finance from Tilburg University and Universidad del CEMA.
Atsi Sheth is Managing Director and Global Head, Credit Strategy and Research.
Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research group includes global teams focused on Macroeconomic Research, Default & Ratings Analytics and Global Emerging Markets as well as regional credit strategy teams each focused on Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and EMEA.
Together these teams establish and articulate Moody’s house views on the trends that drive risk across countries, sectors and asset classes. They undertake in depth data driven analysis and leverage the expertise of ratings and research analysts across Moody’s to generate global, regional and sector insights on macro-economic, political, policy, technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.
In her capacity leading the group, Atsi also serves as a spokesperson on Moody’s analytic views, engaging with investors, the media and a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders.
Atsi is a long-time champion of Moody’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) as well as our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. She serves as co-chair of the CSR Thought Leadership & Solutions working group and the Senior Advisor to Moody’s Asian Leadership Initiative - a Multicultural Business Resource Group.
Prior to her current role, Atsi was Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for the Americas and before that Managing Director in Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. She has also served as Chief Economist at Reliance Capital and taught courses on International Political Economy and Emerging Markets at Columbia University and Northwestern University. Atsi has a PhD from Northwestern University and a B.A. from Bombay University.
Marianna Waltz is a Managing Director at Moody’s Investors Service and has joined the company in 2011. She currently runs Moody’s ratings teams in Latin America, including the Corporate Finance, Infrastructure, Banking and Sub-Sovereign groups across more than 15 countries. She is responsible for the development of MIS ratings and research opinions for the region’s fundamental ratings groups, and the delivery of services to issuers and market participants. Prior to assuming this role in January 2021, Marianna was the Managing Director responsible for Moody’s Corporate Finance team in Latin America. Marianna is also a member of the Board of Directors of Moody’s Local, an affiliate of Moody’s in Peru, Panamá, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Prior to joining Moody’s, Marianna developed a career as an equity sell side analyst covering mostly the Brazilian Consumer and Protein sectors. From 2008 to 2011, she was the head of sell-side equity research in the investment arm of Banco do Brasil in Sao Paulo. Marianna is a CFA charter holder and holds three master’s degrees, including an MBA in Finance from IBMEC Business School and an MBA in Marketing from Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV.
Martin Fernandez Romero is an experienced financial professional with expertise in capital markets in Latin America. He has spent over two decades working in the industry, leading teams, and managing businesses in the region. He currently serves as the Managing Director of the Moody's Local Group, a platform of domestic credit rating agencies operating in local capital markets of Latin America.
In his current role, Martin leads the Moody's Local Group as Chairman of the Boards of the Moody’s Local agencies, a position he has held since 2023. He has worked in establishing the company's reputation as a leading provider of credit rating services in the region. Prior to this role, he spent five years as the Managing Director and Regional Head for Latin America at Moody's Investors Service, where he led the business across the region. He also served as the Country Manager for Argentina and as a Team Leader and Manager for the Latin America Structured Finance Group at Moody's.
Martin also worked as a Vice President / Senior Analyst for the company, where he was responsible for leading the analysis of structured finance transactions in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and other countries in the region. He also worked as an Analyst at Magister BankWatch, a local rating agency affiliated with Thomson Reuters, based in Buenos Aires, where he focused on credit analysis for various companies and structured finance securities.
Martin holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from IAE Business School and a Bachelor's degree in Economics (Licenciado en Economía) from UADE, both of which are located in Argentina.
Director del CFA Society Perú, Presidente del Consejo de Advocacy para la Región América Latina y el Caribe, así como CEO en El Dorado Investments.
Fue Intendente de AFP en la SBS con responsabilidad sobre inversiones y registros de instrumentos nuevos (entre 1997 y 2010).
Cuenta con más de 25 años de experiencia en mercados financieros y capital, y ha participado en la estructuración y análisis de más de 2,800 productos financieros por un valor de más de US $ 32 billones en Perú y mercados internacionales.
Es Licenciado en Economía por la Universidad del Pacífico y tiene estudios en inversiones y administración en Harvard, Wharton, Berkeley, entre otros.
Ricardo Torresi, Managing Director, Regional Investment Manager Latin America, Zurich Insurance Group. Responsible for USD 23.0 billion of on-balance sheet investment assets backing insurance liabilities considering General Insurance and Life Insurance business, Unit Linked products and third-party investors in multi currencies portfolios in Latin America. He joined Zurich Insurance Group in 2012, before that he was Head of Portfolio Management for Metlife Investment Latin America and previously Regional Chief Investment Officer for ALICO (AIG) Latin America. He has over 25 years of experience investment for insurance portfolio all along Latin America and Central America.
He holds a Master Degree in Economics from CEMA (Argentina) and Bachelor in Economics from Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina).
Xavier Vegas serves as the Head of Global Credit Strategy for Global Wealth
Management. In his role, he leads the development of the Private Bank’s global
credit views as well as security level credit investments in Investment Grade,
High Yield, Emerging Markets and Municipal credit, providing investment
solutions for Global Wealth Management clients. Mr. Vegas has a leadership role
in GWM’s investment committee.
Mr. Vegas has extensive experience in the financial industry. Before joining J.P.
Morgan, he served as Emerging Markets Portfolio Manager for Credit and
Equities investments at BlueMountain Capital Management.
Previously, Mr. Vegas worked as an Emerging Markets Distressed Debt Analyst for
Contrarian Capital Management, covering Latin America sovereign and
corporate investments. Prior to that, he worked in the Financial Institution and
Governments Group at J.P. Morgan Investment Bank advising financial
institutions in mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions.
Mr. Vegas earned his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
with a specialization in Corporate Finance and Decision Sciences. Before getting
his MBA, he worked as Treasury Manager at Vencred and as Head Trader at
Activalores.
Mr. Vegas got his Bachelor's Degree from Universidad Metropolitana in
Venezuela, his native country. He currently lives in Westport, Connecticut, with
his wife and three children.
Martin Fernandez Romero is an experienced financial professional with expertise in capital markets in Latin America. He has spent over two decades working in the industry, leading teams, and managing businesses in the region. He currently serves as the Managing Director of the Moody's Local Group, a platform of domestic credit rating agencies operating in local capital markets of Latin America.
In his current role, Martin leads the Moody's Local Group as Chairman of the Boards of the Moody’s Local agencies, a position he has held since 2023. He has worked in establishing the company's reputation as a leading provider of credit rating services in the region. Prior to this role, he spent five years as the Managing Director and Regional Head for Latin America at Moody's Investors Service, where he led the business across the region. He also served as the Country Manager for Argentina and as a Team Leader and Manager for the Latin America Structured Finance Group at Moody's.
Martin also worked as a Vice President / Senior Analyst for the company, where he was responsible for leading the analysis of structured finance transactions in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and other countries in the region. He also worked as an Analyst at Magister BankWatch, a local rating agency affiliated with Thomson Reuters, based in Buenos Aires, where he focused on credit analysis for various companies and structured finance securities.
Martin holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from IAE Business School and a Bachelor's degree in Economics (Licenciado en Economía) from UADE, both of which are located in Argentina.
Atsi Sheth is Managing Director and Global Head, Credit Strategy and Research.
Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research group includes global teams focused on Macroeconomic Research, Default & Ratings Analytics and Global Emerging Markets as well as regional credit strategy teams each focused on Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and EMEA.
Together these teams establish and articulate Moody’s house views on the trends that drive risk across countries, sectors and asset classes. They undertake in depth data driven analysis and leverage the expertise of ratings and research analysts across Moody’s to generate global, regional and sector insights on macro-economic, political, policy, technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.
In her capacity leading the group, Atsi also serves as a spokesperson on Moody’s analytic views, engaging with investors, the media and a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders.
Atsi is a long-time champion of Moody’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) as well as our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. She serves as co-chair of the CSR Thought Leadership & Solutions working group and the Senior Advisor to Moody’s Asian Leadership Initiative - a Multicultural Business Resource Group.
Prior to her current role, Atsi was Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for the Americas and before that Managing Director in Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. She has also served as Chief Economist at Reliance Capital and taught courses on International Political Economy and Emerging Markets at Columbia University and Northwestern University. Atsi has a PhD from Northwestern University and a B.A. from Bombay University.
Jaime Reusche is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s sovereign risk group. He has over 11 years of industry experience. Mr. Reusche is responsible for analysis and ratings of Latin American sovereigns. He authors research on developments impacting sovereign credit quality, participates in sovereign rating committees, and is responsible for communicating sovereign risk group views in investor briefings and discussions with policymakers. Previously, he was lead analyst for a portfolio of Central and Eastern European sovereigns in the same group, before refocusing on Latin America.
He had worked as a Director in Fitch Ratings’ sovereigns group covering Latin American credits including Argentina, Chile and Central American countries until 2011. Prior to this, Mr. Reusche held the positions of analyst, associate analyst and senior associate throughout his nearly seven years at the sovereigns group in Moody’s, where he covered Latin American and Eastern European sovereigns, and oversaw data collection for Moody’s semi-annual Country Statistical Handbook.
Xavier Vegas serves as the Head of Global Credit Strategy for Global Wealth
Management. In his role, he leads the development of the Private Bank’s global
credit views as well as security level credit investments in Investment Grade,
High Yield, Emerging Markets and Municipal credit, providing investment
solutions for Global Wealth Management clients. Mr. Vegas has a leadership role
in GWM’s investment committee.
Mr. Vegas has extensive experience in the financial industry. Before joining J.P.
Morgan, he served as Emerging Markets Portfolio Manager for Credit and
Equities investments at BlueMountain Capital Management.
Previously, Mr. Vegas worked as an Emerging Markets Distressed Debt Analyst for
Contrarian Capital Management, covering Latin America sovereign and
corporate investments. Prior to that, he worked in the Financial Institution and
Governments Group at J.P. Morgan Investment Bank advising financial
institutions in mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions.
Mr. Vegas earned his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
with a specialization in Corporate Finance and Decision Sciences. Before getting
his MBA, he worked as Treasury Manager at Vencred and as Head Trader at
Activalores.
Mr. Vegas got his Bachelor's Degree from Universidad Metropolitana in
Venezuela, his native country. He currently lives in Westport, Connecticut, with
his wife and three children.
Ricardo Torresi, Managing Director, Regional Investment Manager Latin America, Zurich Insurance Group. Responsible for USD 23.0 billion of on-balance sheet investment assets backing insurance liabilities considering General Insurance and Life Insurance business, Unit Linked products and third-party investors in multi currencies portfolios in Latin America. He joined Zurich Insurance Group in 2012, before that he was Head of Portfolio Management for Metlife Investment Latin America and previously Regional Chief Investment Officer for ALICO (AIG) Latin America. He has over 25 years of experience investment for insurance portfolio all along Latin America and Central America.
He holds a Master Degree in Economics from CEMA (Argentina) and Bachelor in Economics from Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina).
Alejo is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Emerging Markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, based in New York.
In this capacity, Alejo leads a team of analysts focusing on emerging economies, influencing the allocation of billions of dollars of the firm's assets under management. As a member of two management forums at UBS, he helps set the strategic direction of the business.
Alejo is also a professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, where he teaches on capital markets in developing economies.
Outside of business and academia, Alejo helps shape the policy debate impacting emerging markets through his involvement with leading global think tanks. He has been named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Wilson Center's Latin America Program and a Millennium Leadership Fellow by the Atlantic Council.
He frequently appears on Bloomberg Television, CNBC, and CNN, and regularly contributes to financial publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal.
Alejo earned a PhD in economics from Columbia University. He also holds degrees in economics and finance from Tilburg University and Universidad del CEMA.
Marianna Waltz is a Managing Director at Moody’s Investors Service and has joined the company in 2011. She currently runs Moody’s ratings teams in Latin America, including the Corporate Finance, Infrastructure, Banking and Sub-Sovereign groups across more than 15 countries. She is responsible for the development of MIS ratings and research opinions for the region’s fundamental ratings groups, and the delivery of services to issuers and market participants. Prior to assuming this role in January 2021, Marianna was the Managing Director responsible for Moody’s Corporate Finance team in Latin America. Marianna is also a member of the Board of Directors of Moody’s Local, an affiliate of Moody’s in Peru, Panamá, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Prior to joining Moody’s, Marianna developed a career as an equity sell side analyst covering mostly the Brazilian Consumer and Protein sectors. From 2008 to 2011, she was the head of sell-side equity research in the investment arm of Banco do Brasil in Sao Paulo. Marianna is a CFA charter holder and holds three master’s degrees, including an MBA in Finance from IBMEC Business School and an MBA in Marketing from Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV.
Director del CFA Society Perú, Presidente del Consejo de Advocacy para la Región América Latina y el Caribe, así como CEO en El Dorado Investments.
Fue Intendente de AFP en la SBS con responsabilidad sobre inversiones y registros de instrumentos nuevos (entre 1997 y 2010).
Cuenta con más de 25 años de experiencia en mercados financieros y capital, y ha participado en la estructuración y análisis de más de 2,800 productos financieros por un valor de más de US $ 32 billones en Perú y mercados internacionales.
Es Licenciado en Economía por la Universidad del Pacífico y tiene estudios en inversiones y administración en Harvard, Wharton, Berkeley, entre otros.
Marianna Waltz is a Managing Director at Moody’s Investors Service and has joined the company in 2011. She currently runs Moody’s ratings teams in Latin America, including the Corporate Finance, Infrastructure, Banking and Sub-Sovereign groups across more than 15 countries. She is responsible for the development of MIS ratings and research opinions for the region’s fundamental ratings groups, and the delivery of services to issuers and market participants. Prior to assuming this role in January 2021, Marianna was the Managing Director responsible for Moody’s Corporate Finance team in Latin America. Marianna is also a member of the Board of Directors of Moody’s Local, an affiliate of Moody’s in Peru, Panamá, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Prior to joining Moody’s, Marianna developed a career as an equity sell side analyst covering mostly the Brazilian Consumer and Protein sectors. From 2008 to 2011, she was the head of sell-side equity research in the investment arm of Banco do Brasil in Sao Paulo. Marianna is a CFA charter holder and holds three master’s degrees, including an MBA in Finance from IBMEC Business School and an MBA in Marketing from Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV.
Atsi Sheth is Managing Director and Global Head, Credit Strategy and Research.
Moody’s Credit Strategy & Research group includes global teams focused on Macroeconomic Research, Default & Ratings Analytics and Global Emerging Markets as well as regional credit strategy teams each focused on Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and EMEA.
Together these teams establish and articulate Moody’s house views on the trends that drive risk across countries, sectors and asset classes. They undertake in depth data driven analysis and leverage the expertise of ratings and research analysts across Moody’s to generate global, regional and sector insights on macro-economic, political, policy, technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.
In her capacity leading the group, Atsi also serves as a spokesperson on Moody’s analytic views, engaging with investors, the media and a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders.
Atsi is a long-time champion of Moody’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) as well as our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. She serves as co-chair of the CSR Thought Leadership & Solutions working group and the Senior Advisor to Moody’s Asian Leadership Initiative - a Multicultural Business Resource Group.
Prior to her current role, Atsi was Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for the Americas and before that Managing Director in Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group. She has also served as Chief Economist at Reliance Capital and taught courses on International Political Economy and Emerging Markets at Columbia University and Northwestern University. Atsi has a PhD from Northwestern University and a B.A. from Bombay University.
Martin Fernandez Romero is an experienced financial professional with expertise in capital markets in Latin America. He has spent over two decades working in the industry, leading teams, and managing businesses in the region. He currently serves as the Managing Director of the Moody's Local Group, a platform of domestic credit rating agencies operating in local capital markets of Latin America.
In his current role, Martin leads the Moody's Local Group as Chairman of the Boards of the Moody’s Local agencies, a position he has held since 2023. He has worked in establishing the company's reputation as a leading provider of credit rating services in the region. Prior to this role, he spent five years as the Managing Director and Regional Head for Latin America at Moody's Investors Service, where he led the business across the region. He also served as the Country Manager for Argentina and as a Team Leader and Manager for the Latin America Structured Finance Group at Moody's.
Martin also worked as a Vice President / Senior Analyst for the company, where he was responsible for leading the analysis of structured finance transactions in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and other countries in the region. He also worked as an Analyst at Magister BankWatch, a local rating agency affiliated with Thomson Reuters, based in Buenos Aires, where he focused on credit analysis for various companies and structured finance securities.
Martin holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from IAE Business School and a Bachelor's degree in Economics (Licenciado en Economía) from UADE, both of which are located in Argentina.
Xavier Vegas serves as the Head of Global Credit Strategy for Global Wealth
Management. In his role, he leads the development of the Private Bank’s global
credit views as well as security level credit investments in Investment Grade,
High Yield, Emerging Markets and Municipal credit, providing investment
solutions for Global Wealth Management clients. Mr. Vegas has a leadership role
in GWM’s investment committee.
Mr. Vegas has extensive experience in the financial industry. Before joining J.P.
Morgan, he served as Emerging Markets Portfolio Manager for Credit and
Equities investments at BlueMountain Capital Management.
Previously, Mr. Vegas worked as an Emerging Markets Distressed Debt Analyst for
Contrarian Capital Management, covering Latin America sovereign and
corporate investments. Prior to that, he worked in the Financial Institution and
Governments Group at J.P. Morgan Investment Bank advising financial
institutions in mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions.
Mr. Vegas earned his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
with a specialization in Corporate Finance and Decision Sciences. Before getting
his MBA, he worked as Treasury Manager at Vencred and as Head Trader at
Activalores.
Mr. Vegas got his Bachelor's Degree from Universidad Metropolitana in
Venezuela, his native country. He currently lives in Westport, Connecticut, with
his wife and three children.
Ricardo Torresi, Managing Director, Regional Investment Manager Latin America, Zurich Insurance Group. Responsible for USD 23.0 billion of on-balance sheet investment assets backing insurance liabilities considering General Insurance and Life Insurance business, Unit Linked products and third-party investors in multi currencies portfolios in Latin America. He joined Zurich Insurance Group in 2012, before that he was Head of Portfolio Management for Metlife Investment Latin America and previously Regional Chief Investment Officer for ALICO (AIG) Latin America. He has over 25 years of experience investment for insurance portfolio all along Latin America and Central America.
He holds a Master Degree in Economics from CEMA (Argentina) and Bachelor in Economics from Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina).
Alejo is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Emerging Markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, based in New York.
In this capacity, Alejo leads a team of analysts focusing on emerging economies, influencing the allocation of billions of dollars of the firm's assets under management. As a member of two management forums at UBS, he helps set the strategic direction of the business.
Alejo is also a professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, where he teaches on capital markets in developing economies.
Outside of business and academia, Alejo helps shape the policy debate impacting emerging markets through his involvement with leading global think tanks. He has been named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Wilson Center's Latin America Program and a Millennium Leadership Fellow by the Atlantic Council.
He frequently appears on Bloomberg Television, CNBC, and CNN, and regularly contributes to financial publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal.
Alejo earned a PhD in economics from Columbia University. He also holds degrees in economics and finance from Tilburg University and Universidad del CEMA.
Director del CFA Society Perú, Presidente del Consejo de Advocacy para la Región América Latina y el Caribe, así como CEO en El Dorado Investments.
Fue Intendente de AFP en la SBS con responsabilidad sobre inversiones y registros de instrumentos nuevos (entre 1997 y 2010).
Cuenta con más de 25 años de experiencia en mercados financieros y capital, y ha participado en la estructuración y análisis de más de 2,800 productos financieros por un valor de más de US $ 32 billones en Perú y mercados internacionales.
Es Licenciado en Economía por la Universidad del Pacífico y tiene estudios en inversiones y administración en Harvard, Wharton, Berkeley, entre otros.