LETTER TO THE TEAM - 02.24

LETTER TO THE TEAM

INTERNAL USE www.spxcapital.com

02.2024

“The opportunities today are as great, or greater, than when I joined” Bruna Silveira

Head of Equities Research

MESSAGE FROM THE PARTNER Bruna Silveira Head of Equities Research

I

t´s with great pride and affection that I am writing this today, but I confess: it has not been an easy mission. I’m a

numbers person and after my university entrance essay the most I dared to write were bullet points. After all the incredible people who have passed through here, partners and friends with much more experience than me, all that remains is for me to share a little of my story and what I

have learned along the way in the hope of being able to contribute to the journey of those who read this.

It all started at the PUC1 internship fair. I was only 19 years old and completely new to the financial market, but I saw an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of people I admired.

Looking at some of my - not many - friends from college who were working, there was one company that caught my eye: the old BBM. That’s where the smartest people I knew were, which to me said a lot about the place.

A few weeks later, I was called in for an interview with HR, which preceded a 1

MESSAGE FROM THE PARTNER

Pontifícia Universidade Católica

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LETTER TO THE TEAM

conversation with the head of the division. I had a good GPA and was interested, but was

that I had the best teachers, always intelligent, diligent and very generous with

valuation off the top of their head in the first interview. I hardly knew what I was going to do, but ‘international equities’ didn't sound too bad. As everything in life is about hard work and luck, there began a touch of mine.

best chance of training a capable professional with our culture. That’s what drives us: people. Time went by and I learnt more about the job, from how to analyse to how to interact with companies.

nowhere near as prepared as the candidates we interview today, who can ‘recite’ a

My selection process had to be shortened owing to the need to fill the position quickly,

and my future boss skipped the final interview with the director of the division.

This was none other than Leonardo Linhares himself, the famous Leo. To this day, anyone who joins our division still hears him say that back then he ‘would never have hired a 19-year-old with no experience for the job’.

Lucky me.

their time and knowledge. An intern there, just like here, is not ‘cheap labour’, but our

After almost two years, when things

finally got back on track, I received the news that Leo and the other portfolio manager, Nicolas Poletti, were leaving for a new fund: they were going to join SPX. I

imagine the look of disappointment on my face was so great that two months later Leo called me to talk.

On my first day at BBM, my boss at the time went on holiday. He was supposed to be

In September 2012, I arrived at SPX. The longs were still in their infancy, and the hedge fund, although already of a

that initial moment was incredibly busy and challenging - in less than a month, I was

dream” spirit, with a lot of investment in people, ethics and hard work.

away for something like a week or two, but he never came back. So, it was just me, another ‘senior’ trainee and Leo. Anyone who knows him knows that he is electric, so

presenting the case of a Canadian company called Bombardier without even being able to read a slide. I had to take a step back until things fell into place. After a few months and changes in the area, I was invited to migrate to Brazilian equities. That was the start of a journey of dedication and learning that has brought me here.

BBM had a culture similar to ours. I can say MESSAGE FROM THE PARTNER

reasonable size in relation to the market, ‘only’ had four billion Brazilian Reais.

Everything was much less robust than it is today, but you could always feel that “big

At equities, the aim was to cover the consumer sector and bring in a bit of the BBM culture, which also extended to most

of SPX’s other divisions. Over time, I naturally obtained more seniority. I became a partner in 2014 and gained more space as changes took place. I have no doubt that coming in at the beginning helped me to be where I am today, but

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when I look around and think about our team, I see how much the people who joined

up, read the newspaper, reports, relevant facts, talk to the companies, make

After a very difficult year in 2020, be it for the public in general with the loss of life and the economic impact, and for us, who failed to reach the desired results for our investors, 2021 came with happy changes.

We probably made the most significant transformation to our structure with the separation of the equities teams and the specific allocation of Leo and his team to the long only funds. We also redesigned the entire incentive structure and managed to arrive at a much more transparent and aligned model. I like to think that today we have the best of both worlds: the robust structure of a large company, with all the support from macro, commodities,

This is a new and extremely challenging role - and I say this from the position of someone who has never been so excited about our team. These are capable people who dedicate a significant part of their lives and have, quite rightly, a high level of expectation regarding the return on their investment. Knowing how to listen, managing expectations, meeting some demands - often postponing others - and doing all this simultaneously with other tasks is not easy. I’m sure that I, like many others, have a lot to learn in this regard.

three or five years ago are key players in our day-to-day work and in our results. For me, the opportunities today are just as great as they were back then - and, if I had to crunch numbers in this regard, with a higher expected value.

commercial and various other divisions, while at the same time we are all aligned in terms of results, just like in a small company.

Along with these changes, and with the same mindset of focus and specialisation, I began to take on new tasks, helping Leo to manage people and organise the division. As a result, I became head of the analysis team, which brought new challenges to my career.

Like many people here, each in their own field, my entire professional life has been dedicated to analysing companies. I wake MESSAGE FROM THE PARTNER

analyses and models and, in the end, provide my opinions. This is what I know how to do and have been doing for 13 years. But, more than or just as important, another part of my job that I am learning to develop is managing people.

Leading means ensuring a cohesive, incentivised and aligned team, it means being a multiplier of the culture, always adopting a constructive attitude and promoting a working environment that inspires trust and satisfaction in building together.

I’m happy to be a part of this story almost from the beginning. I’m proud to have

seen the divisions structure themselves, to have seen our internationalisation, our funds grow, new verticals being created...

As I said previously, the opportunities today are as great, or greater, than when I joined. I hope that the next wave of

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professionals will be able to make the most of them and be as happy as I am here.

MESSAGE FROM THE PARTNER

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LETTER TO THE TEAM

SPX Investment Solutions In

January,

two

projects

the

started a fund specifically designed to

We initiated the management of our first mandate, tailored to the specific needs of an Insurance Company seeking additional returns for part of its reserves. This mandate, which required strong interaction with the client and meticulous evaluation of regulatory constraints for designing the allocation, effectively illustrates the approach of SPX Investment Solutions.

The transition to the operational phase not only represents an achievement for the area but also offers the opportunity to positively impact other verticals. We are excited and confident that this pivotal step will boost our growth and enhance access to new clients and mandates.

Investment Solutions operational, marking milestone for our team.

from

team became an important

Additionally, during the same period, we

access exposure in Brazilian real interest rates, the SPX Juro Real IMA-B Dinâmico, initially focused on institutional audience.

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SPX at the 11th Latin American Investment Conference (LAIC) On 29 January, Rogério Xavier took part in the 11th Latin American Investment Conference (LAIC). During the event, he led the panel ‘A View from the Top’ moderated

by Guilherme Zaczac, Head of Liquid

Smart Summit 2024

by IR

SPX was present at the Smart Summit 2024, an event held by InvestSmartXP on 25 and 26 January in Rio de Janeiro, seeking to establish connections and share relevant

insights into the financial sector. During the event, Marcela Novaes, from the IR team, led the panel ‘From Liquid to Illiquid Investments: Strategies’.

EVENTS

SPX

Capital’s

Investment

by IR

Alternatives and Institutional Mandates at UBS Brazil and Enio Shinohara, Head of Portfolio of Funds Advisory at UBS Brazil.

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LETTER TO THE TEAM

TOWN HALL MEETINGS 2023

by HR

Entre o final do ano e o início de 2024, foram realizados os Town Hall Meetings 2023, em português e inglês. O evento anual em português ocorreu no auditório do escritório do Rio de Janeiro, enquanto a versão em inglês teve lugar no One Heddon Street, Londres.

Durante o evento, o Comitê Executivo fez

uma retrospectiva de 2023, destacando as principais conquistas e desafios do ano, além de fornecer uma perspectiva para 2024.

Ao término da apresentação, foi aberta uma sessão de perguntas e respostas, permitindo a participação de todos para esclarecer dúvidas e promover a interação.

EVENTS

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