LATAM Stocks Podcast

What does the next phase of Brazil’s banking cycle look like for Bradesco?

In this episode of the LATAM Stocks Podcast, Patrick Flood, CFA speaks with Ilan Arbetman, CFA, Head of Research at Ativa Investimentos, about Brazilian equities and takes a deep dive into Bradesco.

They discuss Brazil’s broader equity-market environment, foreign investor flows, the country’s credit and delinquency cycle, and how Bradesco is positioning itself for the next phase of the banking cycle.

The conversation also covers Bradesco’s exposure to Brazil’s middle-income consumer, changes in lending standards and credit underwriting, profitability and valuation, opportunities to improve efficiency, and how the bank compares with other major Brazilian financial institutions.

Patrick and Ilan also examine Bradesco’s insurance and healthcare businesses, including the importance of insurance to the group’s earnings and the strategic and capital implications of recent changes to the business.

Guest:

Ilan Arbetman, CFA
Head of Research — Ativa Investimentos

Ilan on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilan-arbetman/

Ativa Investimentos:
https://www.ativainvestimentos.com.br/

Follow LATAM Stocks:

X / Twitter: https://x.com/LatamStocks
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140
Newsletter: https://latamstocks.substack.com/

Nothing discussed in this podcast should be considered investment advice. Please do your own due diligence.

Brazil has roughly R$11 trillion invested across its fund industry, but the way Brazilians allocate capital looks very different from the traditional stock-and-bond portfolios familiar to many U.S. investors.

Danilo, founder and CTO of Mais Retorno, joins the podcast to explain Brazil's fund industry, why CDI and fixed-income products dominate investor portfolios, and why equities face such a high hurdle when short-duration investments offer attractive yields.

We also discuss Brazil's emerging ETF market, changes in financial-advisor compensation, the potential impact of lower interest rates on investor behavior, and Danilo's own approach to investing in Brazilian banks, insurance companies and commodity producers.

Find Danilo on X: https://x.com/daniloardenghi
Mais Retorno: https://maisretorno.com

_______________________________________________________

Interested in business and investing in Latin America? Join the LATAM Stocks community:

X / Twitter: https://x.com/LatamStocks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/

Newsletter: https://Latamstocks.substack.com

In this Episode I speak with Ivan Montoya. Ivan is the founder and managing director of NuMundo Ventures, a pre-seed & seed stage venture capital fund focused entirely on Latin America.

We discuss the current state of Venture Capital in Latin America, the challenges and opportunities the region presents, NuMundo's "LATAM Early Stage 100" list, and towards the end we dig into a few of NuMundo's portfolio companies.

If you want to connect with Ivan and follow his work you can find him on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanmontoya1/

And if you want to learn more about NuMundo and the "LATAM Early Stage 100" list, you can find the link to their website and the list here:

LATAM Early Stage 100 list: https://numundoventures.com/latam-early-stage-100/

______________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/
  
And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/

In this episode I speak with Alejandro Cifuentes, the Chief Investment officer at MMG Bank in Panama. 

this is a wide ranging discussion on the economies and investment landscapes in Panama and El Salvador. We touch on Panama's Cobre Copper Mine, the geopolitical situation with the panama canal, El Salvadors IMF package, and more!

If you want to follow Alejandro and his work, you can find him on LinkedIn and X:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandro-cifuentes-cfa-b13b1994/

X App: https://twitter.com/alecif17

______________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/
  
And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/

In this episode I speak with Jonathan Combeau.

Jonathan has a ton of experience working with Colombian financial markets. He currently works with wealth management and private banking for high net worth Colombian clients.

We talk about the investment landscape in Colombia, tariffs, the 2026 presidential election, and Colombia's investment culture.

This conversation is full of useful information for investors interested in Colombia.

If you want to connect with Jonathan and follow his work, you can find him on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancombeau/

_________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/
  
And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/

In this episode I talk to Frederico Nobre, Head of Research at Brazilian brokerage Warren. Frederico is also an analyst specialized in commodities companies, especially Brazil’s Oil & Gas sector.

Frederico gives an overview of Brazil's current Macro environment and the state of the country's Oil & Gas industry. We discuss Brazil's oil giant, Petrobras, in detail. We also dig into a few of Brazil's smaller oil and gas producers like PetroRio and the merger that created Brava Energia.

You can follow Frederico here:

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NobreFrederico

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederico-nobre-cnpi-p-2a1998108/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/economiadodia_/

_________________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/

And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/

In this Episode I speak with Jose Bezies Cortes. Jose is an experienced equity analyst that covers Mexican stocks.

We do a deep dive into Mexico's retail industry and some of its major companies. First, Jose gives a macro overview of Mexico's retail industry and his future outlook.

Then we dig into two specific stocks: Coco-Cola FEMSA, including their convenience store brand Oxxo, and then the retailer Chedraui.

This conversation is full of useful information for investors interested in Mexico and its retail industry!

If you want to connect with Jose and follow his work, you can find him on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseluisbeziescortes/
_________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/
  
And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/

In this episode I speak with Dr. John Welch. John is an economist and professor that has had a long and successful career covering Latin American. He has worked as a managing director at major financial institutions in Latin America, including as the chief economist at Banco Itaù.

Currently John runs his own research firm called Research for Emerging Markets. He is also a University economics professor.

In our conversation we discuss the current state of the Argentine and Brazilian economies, in detail. Including topics like inflation, exchange rates, and capital flows.

John is extremely knowledgable and this conversation is full of useful information!

If you want to follow John and his work, you can find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-h-welch-446904126/

____________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/
  
And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/

In this episode I speak with Gabriel Boente and Luis Gustavo P. Santos. They both work on the equity derivatives team at Options & Co, a Brazilian options investment advisory firm.

We do a deep dive into Brazil's beef industry, discussing the recently approved transaction between Marfrig and Minerva. This transaction was valued at around $1.5 billion USD, making it one of the largest transactions in the history of Brazil's beef industry.

We talk about Brazil's beef industry in general, including market position and competitive advantages. Then we get into Marfrig & Minerva specifically, discussing, the recent asset sale, reasons for the transaction, and potential investment opportunities created by this transaction. 

This conversation is full of useful information for investors. Gabriel and Luis provide great insight into Brazil's beef industry and both companies!

If you want to connect with Gabriel and Luis and follow their work, you can find their social media pages here:

Gabriel

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-boente/

X: https://x.com/gabeboente

Luis

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-gustavo-p-santos-caia/

Options & Co.: https://optionsresearch.com.br/

_________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/
  
And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/

In this episode I speak with Pedro Dejneka. Pedro is the co-founder of MD commodities where he provides expert analysis on Brazil's agricultural commodities markets to his clients.

To learn more about Pedro's background, check out our previous podcast: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNahYad6CmQ&t=1s

In this discussion we do a deep dive into the current state, and future outlook, for global corn and soybean markets. We also touch a bit on coffee markets, as well as a the impact of several recent natural disasters in Brazil.

This episode is full of useful information for investors interested in agricultural commodities!

If you want to follow Pedro and his work, the best place to find him is on Twitter/X: 

https://twitter.com/PHDChicago

You can also find him on LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pdejneka/

_________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Business and Investing in Latin America, Join the LATAM Stocks Community!

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LatamStocks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LatamStocks    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flood-cfa-26869140/
  
And sign up to our free newsletter to receive investment overviews of the most interesting public companies in Latin America!

https://latamstocks.substack.com/