Skip to content
Subscriber Only

Argentine Fund Jumped 21% on ‘Black Monday’ By Betting on Brazil Instead

  • BNP Argentina CIO’s fund gained with bet on hard-currency debt
  • Peso tumbled to record low on unexpected primary election vote
A demonstration passes in front of the Central Bank of Argentina in Buenos Aires on Aug. 13. 
Photographer: Erica Canepa/Bloomberg

Emilio Botto, chief investment officer at BNP Paribas Asset Management Argentina, has dodged financial calamities -- from hyperinflation to defaults and currency controls -- his entire three-decade career.

It was no different on what he calls Argentina’s “Black Monday.” While some peers in Buenos Aires lost upwards of 40% on that day alone, Botto’s Optimum Renta Fija Estrategica fund soared 21% in local currency terms. That was its second-best gain since inception in late February as it outperformed more than 450 portfolios tracked by Bloomberg.