Where there is return there is always risk. The improving economic outlook for most Latin American economies this year is pushing down the risk-return ratio. Investors looking for better returns will have to settle for Ecuador’s PDI Brady bonds or leave the region altogether and buy Russian Prins. For those who still want some Latin exposure, Argentina’s FRB Bradys look like a good bet, delivering the best returns and least volatility. Oil producers Venezuela and Mexico are giving lower returns and greater volatility. If there is any paper investors should have stayed away from, it is Colombia’s 2027 Global bond, clearly the market underperformer. Colombia lost its investment-grade rating last year and the government is struggling to push through new economic and constitutional reforms while pressing ahead with peace talks to end decades of bloody – and expensive – civil conflict. However, investors and government officials say White House backing for the government of President Andrés Pastrana is a positivesignal for the markets.