Swiss wealth manager Mirabaud plans to triple the amount of money it manages in Brazil in the next two years as it grows its presence in Latin America’s biggest economy.
(Bloomberg) — Swiss wealth manager Mirabaud plans to triple the amount of money it manages in Brazil in the next two years as it grows its presence in Latin America’s biggest economy.
Mirabaud currently oversees 1 billion reais ($197 million) in Brazil and is working with 70 families, country chief Urbano de Moraes said. It also manages another $3.8 billion for Latin American clients, including Brazilians, through its offshore business, he said.
Geneva-based Mirabaud, which was founded in 1819 and manages $35 billion globally, opened its Brazil office in 2019. It acquired its local license last year and hired Moraes to lead the operation. He was previously local head of Indosuez Wealth SA and an executive at Credit Agricole SA and Credit Lyonnais SACA.
“We have a lot of room to grow organically,” Moraes said in an interview in Sao Paulo.
Nicolas Mirabaud, a seventh-generation family member and current managing partner at the firm, traveled to Brazil earlier this year to meet current and prospective clients in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Moraes said.
The wealth management industry in Brazil continues to grow both in terms of assets under management and the number of players. The pile of money being managed by independent wealth firms rose 8.3% in the first half of 2023 to 460.4 billion reais, according to Anbima, a financial and capital markets association.
Mirabaud raised 100 million reais for a fixed-income fund this year and will begin taking money for a second fund focused on private credit, said Eric Hatisuka, chief investment officer for Brazil.
The firm currently has 13 employees in its Sao Paulo office, which is housed in a sleek building near Paulista Avenue with no tenants listed in the lobby as part of a strategy to remain discreet.
The executives said they’re closely following wealth-tax debates in Brazil’s congress and are advising clients to wait before taking decisions due to uncertainty about the eventual outcome.
“Brazil is full of opportunities, in construction, agribusiness, technology startups and services,” Moraes said. “In a market of this size, you create space for companies to grow and with that attract big players to the country.”
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