Insigneo Recruits Maria Solanet from Morgan Stanley

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María Solanet, Insigneo

Insigneo announced that Maria Solanet has joined the firm as Senior Vice President and will be based in the firm’s Miami headquarters.

Prior to joining the firm, Solanet worked as an International Wealth Management Advisor at Morgan Stanley, where she provided customized advice and investment solutions to clients residing abroad and in the US.

“Maria’s proven track record of over twenty years and passion for working with international clients will bring significant value to Insigneo,” said Jose Salazar, Insigneo’s US Market Head. “We are excited to continue to attract the industry’s best and brightest talent.”

On the other hand, Solanet added, “I am thrilled to join Insigneo’s team of independent financial advisors, it’s an incredible next step in my career. I look forward to leveraging Insigneo’s platform and its resources, while taking advantage of the collaborative environment the firm provides.”

Throughout her career, Solanet has focused on helping international clients understand the challenges and opportunities of investing in the U.S.

One of 10 children, Solanet grew up in Argentina in a home focused on finance. Her family owned a bank there, exposing her from an early age to the varied aspects of the financial markets. After earning the equivalent of an Associate Degree at the University of Buenos Aires, Solanet went to Cambridge, England, where she continued her education and began her financial career.  

During the past 23 years, she has built a reputation for guiding her clients in making sound investment decisions, working at such firms as Lloyds Bank in England, HSBC Bank, and Merrill Lynch Bank of America until she joined Morgan Stanley in 2015.

“It is such an exciting time at Insigneo as we continue to add outstanding financial professionals like Maria, and we continue to invest in the necessary technology and resources to enable them to deliver the superior service for which Insigneo is know,” added Rodolfo Castilla, Head of Sales for Insigneo.

FlexFunds Issues Its ETP 500 for Driftwood Capital

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Photo courtesyDriftwood Capital & FlexFunds team

FlexFunds, a provider of asset securitization services offering both turnkey or custom-built solutions that facilitate the setup and launching of exchange traded products, has issued its 500th Exchange Traded Product (ETP) for Driftwood Capital. 

Driftwood Capital specializes in real estate strategies spanning acquisition, development, and  lending and has a portfolio of assets under management of over US$ 3 billion and 1,200 active  investors.

The ETP issued by FlexFunds under the denomination “Great North Partners II”  facilitates Driftwood’s distribution of high-return mezzanine debt and loan investments in  hotel assets throughout the United States.  

Carlos J. Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Driftwood Capital said: “FlexFunds  gave us the opportunity to distribute our investment products to a wider audience of foreign  investors in a cost-efficient and effective manner. We plan to use FlexFunds for distributing  not only our Hotel Lending Platform products but also for our Hotel Development and  Acquisition Investment strategies. We see FlexFunds as a way to continue to increase our  channels of distribution worldwide and continue to exponentially grow our US$ 3 billion +  hotel portfolio.” 

Emilio Veiga Gil, Executive Vice President, and Chief Marketing Officer of FlexFunds, said:  “Through FlexFunds’ securitization program, we can convert any asset into a listed and  Euroclerable security, allowing international investors to participate in any project easily.  Driftwood Capital’s ETPs are a clear example of the advantages that asset securitization can  offer, ranging from real estate to portfolios of listed securities or any other private equity  project. Asset repackaging plays a key role in allowing investors to participate in a wide range  of opportunities with lower levels of investment, thus democratizing access to capital  markets.” 

Sanctuary Wealth Embarks on Next Stage of Growth with Appointment of Adam Malamed As Chief Executive Officer

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Photo courtesyAdam Malamed, new Sanctuary Wealth's CEO.

Sanctuary Wealth Group named wealth management industry leader Adam Malamed Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

Mr. Malamed, an existing member of Sanctuary’s Board of Directors, will leverage his proven expertise in growing and leading privately held and publicly traded wealth management and financial services enterprises across multiple business models to spearhead the next stage of the firm’s growth, according the firm information.

“I’m thrilled to lead Sanctuary Wealth as the firm embarks upon the next stage of its growth, which will be built on very strong foundations.  Having served on Sanctuary’s Board of Directors, I’ve had the opportunity to dive deep into understanding its business, unique culture and value proposition for financial advisors. I have the utmost respect for the firm’s executive leadership, employees and the financial advisors we support.  I look forward to applying my experience in leading and expanding some of the nation’s largest and most successful financial services companies to this new role,” Mr. Malamed said.

Previously, Mr. Malamed served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Board Director of Ladenburg Thalmann, a leading NYSE-listed network of wealth management and other financial services firms.  He served a pivotal role in building the enterprise to encompass 4,500 financial advisors, approximately $200 billion in client assets and an enterprise value of $1.3 billion, the statement added.

Building on Sanctuary’s Strong Foundations

Launched in 2018, Sanctuary  delivers a well-resourced, partnered independence experience through a platform of comprehensive solutions and services to financial advisors with entrepreneurial drive and the desire to serve clients with distinction.

“With robust institutional financial backing from leading global asset managers Kennedy Lewis and Azimut Group, Sanctuary empowers successful and experienced financial advisors to elevate their professional success and the service experience provided to their clients”, the firm said.

“Never before has there been a greater need for independent financial advice, and independent firms with sophisticated growth strategies are well-positioned to drive rising success for their organizations and advisors.  Toward this end, I am a big believer in taking the best elements of a firm’s culture and aligning it with an institutionalized strategy and scalable solutions that consistently elevate the financial advisor and client service experience,” continued Mr. Malamed.  “This is precisely what we will achieve together at Sanctuary going forward.  In a fast-evolving wealth management landscape, Sanctuary has an opportunity to become the destination of choice throughout the independent financial advice industry.”

More M&A Ahead for Private Bank & Trust Companies

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More than two-thirds (68%) of private bank and bank trust executives are actively considering merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities to grow and adapt their businesses, according to the latest Cerulli Edge—U.S. Asset and Wealth Management Edition.

M&A has been a mainstay of bank growth strategies for the better part of the past decade. As clients demand more intuitive technology and broader services from their private banking and trust providers, these organizations require greater economies of scale to invest in enhancing their offerings.

Greater efficiency through economies of scale (75%), a desire for geographic expansion (69%), and the many benefits of greater fee-based revenues (63%) are the primary motivators behind most M&A in the bank space.

According to Chayce Horton, research analyst, “Larger and more scaled firms that can provide seamless and comprehensive financial services experiences for their clients have regained momentum after finding themselves flatfooted for the better part of the previous decade.” Private banks now are the fastest-growing segment of the bank wealth management industry, with annualized growth of 17% since year-end 2019.

Cerulli finds 62% of executives actively considering M&A options are looking into acquiring smaller firms in their channel and integrating them into their offering.

“This option is considered one of the least cumbersome M&A strategies, with the benefits of complementary business growth and cost-cutting measures,” states Horton. “However, the acquiring firm must possess the systems and operational nimbleness to handle the injections of scale that come with acquisitions,” cautions Horton. Merging with a similarly-sized bank/trust company (38%), acquiring an RIA or family office (38%), or acquiring a digital advice or fintech provider (23%) are other strong considerations for M&A among bank executives.

As M&A in the bank space continues to churn, third parties providing products and services to these firms must prepare to adapt their strategies as well. “Often during M&A events and the resulting integrations, traditional gatekeepers and decision-makers can change in unpredictable ways. The best way to continue addressing opportunities through these events is to have conversations early and often with counterparts across the organizational chart to gauge when and what problems may arise, so that they can be appropriately resolved ahead of time,” concludes Horton.

Morgan Stanley Capital Partners Acquires Environmental Consulting and Engineering Firm

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Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (“MSCP”), the middle-market focused private equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, have acquired Apex Companies (“Apex” or the “Company”), a provider of end-to-end environmental consulting and engineering solutions, from Sentinel Capital Partners (“Sentinel”).

MSCP is partnering with the current management team led by CEO Dave Fabianski, who will continue to lead the business. Sentinel Capital Partners will maintain a minority position in the Company post-closing.

Apex, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, “is a leader in consulting and engineering services across a broad range of environmental and infrastructure needs”, according the firm information. The Company serves public sector clients at the federal, state, and municipal levels, as well as thousands of private sector clients across retail, industrial, real estate, technology, financial services and energy end markets.

An established leader in stormwater compliance and environmental services, Apex also offers a strong portfolio of services in infrastructure and water resources, compliance and assurance (including ESG consulting), health and safety, transportation and civil engineering, the press release adds.

“Apex’s solutions serve clients and communities across a broad range of environmental and infrastructure needs, and seek to ensure that corporations, government agencies and municipalities achieve and maintain regulatory compliance. In addition to being a highly respected provider of environmental services, Apex is also a leader in the attractive and high-growth stormwater compliance industry,” said Eric Kanter, Managing Director and Head of Industrials at MSCP. “We believe the company’s record of expansion, both organically and through accretive M&A, has generated substantial momentum for continued growth. We are excited to partner with Dave and the Apex leadership team to drive continued success in Apex’s core service offerings and to pursue strategic M&A that adds additional geographic presence, service capabilities and customer diversity.”

Dave Fabianski, President and CEO of Apex, stated, “Partnering with MSCP provides us with a tremendous opportunity to access additional capabilities and resources that we believe will help us further enhance our value proposition and service offering. Together with MSCP we will accelerate our strategic growth pursuits in water, environmental, infrastructure, and ESG, while expanding our investment in Apex’s people, culture, and digital strategies. The outlook in our industry has never been better, and we are excited to partner with the MSCP team for our next chapter of growth.”

MSCP’s acquisition of Apex represents its second investment in environmental services, following the acquisition of Alliance Technical Group in 2021, and is an area where the team has deep institutional knowledge and domain expertise. It also is in line with MSCP’s and Morgan Stanley’s broader commitment to ESG.

Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel to MSCP, and Harris Williams and Raymond James served as MSCP’s financial advisors. Carlyle and Churchill Asset Management acted as the administrative agents, bookrunners and arrangers on the financing.

Jennifer Ryan Joins Lazard Asset Management as Head of North American Distribution

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Jennifer Ryan

Lazard Asset Management (LAM) announced that Jennifer Ryan has joined the firm as Managing Director and Head of North American Distribution, effective immediately.

Based in New York, Ms. Ryan joins from BlackRock where she held leadership roles in both its U.S. and U.K. Institutional Client Businesses. As a member of the senior leadership team for Lazard’s Asset Management business, she will be responsible for LAM’s business development in North America and will oversee its Institutional Client Group, Financial Institutions Group, Alternative Investments Sales, and Consultant Relations Group.

“Jen brings to Lazard over 25 years of experience in the asset management industry. She has a deep understanding of the North American market, the trends that are driving its evolution, and the strategies needed to grow and develop both our intermediary and institutional client businesses,” said Evan Russo, Chief Executive Officer of Lazard Asset Management.

“Her appointment underscores our commitment to providing outstanding service and differentiated investment solutions to meet the continually evolving needs of our clients.” “This is a fantastic opportunity to further optimize LAM’s distribution capabilities in North America,” said Ms. Ryan.

“Lazard is a well-established global brand, and I am looking forward to working with its outstanding distribution teams to increase our presence in the region and continue to provide world-class investment solutions to new and existing clients.” Ms. Ryan joins Lazard from BlackRock where she spent six years in senior leadership roles in both its U.S. and U.K. Institutional Client Businesses.

Previously, she spent 19 years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in several key client-facing roles, including Head of U.S. Consultant Relations, Co-Head of Endowments and Foundations and Head of New York Bank Intermediary Sales. Ms. Ryan started her career as a product strategist in the Global Liquidity business at Goldman Sachs. She earned a B.A. in English and International Studies from Boston College, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Insigneo Appoints Homar Mauras to Market Head for the Andean Region, Central America and The Caribbean

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Photo courtesyHomar Mauras, Market Head for the Andean Region, Central America and the Caribbean

Insigneo announced the appointment of Homar Mauras as Market Head for the Andean Region, Central America and the Caribbean. He will be based at the firm’s Puerto Rico office.

Prior to joining Insigneo, Mauras was President, CEO and COO of Citi International Financial Services LLC in Puerto Rico, which Insigneo acquired in August 2022. Throughout his successful 25 plus year career at CIFS in Puerto Rico, he worked in a variety of leadership positions including Regional Sales Principal, Regional Sales Manager, and Head Trader.

“Insigneo’s recent acquisition of Citi International Financial Services has further strengthened Insigneo’s platform to serve clients in the Andean Region, Central America and the Caribbean, and positioning a senior leader like Homar in this leadership role at Insigneo further evidences our commitment to develop our wealth-management business across these key markets,” said Rodolfo Castilla, Sales Head of Insigneo Financial Group. “Having known Homar for over 20 years, I am sure he is perfectly suited to lead our growth efforts – organic and inorganic – in this important region, with a much bigger presence in Puerto Rico as a regional hub of Insigneo.”

Added Mauras: “I am excited to bring to Insigneo a strong expertise and skill set which I have honed over the past 30 years, working successfully in top leadership positions within the uniquely complex Andean, Central American and Caribbean markets. I have a close pulse on local market dynamics and emerging trends, and look forward to working with the Insigneo team to find new ways to meet the changing needs of our different wealth managers and their clients.”

Additionally, as Insigneo continues to integrate the two firms and optimize its operating model, Javier Rivero, the current President and Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed President of Insigneo International Financial Services LLC. Rivero, who joined Insigneo in 2017 as Head of Client Relations, is noted as a seasoned executive with extensive experience in senior management roles within the wealth management industry.

As to Mauras, following is some additional background: The distinguished executive has over 30 years of highly valued experience in the Latin America Wealth Management sector. He has worked in roles throughout multiple geographies, across all operational areas of the investment wealth-management business including operations management, sales management, offshore banking products, business development and business process improvements.

He received a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) in finance and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Inter American University. His licenses include: SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination; Series 7 – General Securities Representative Examination; and Series 24 – General Securities Principal Examination

Australian Boutique Investment Manager Maple-Brown Abbott Partners with Hyde Park Investment

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Australian boutique investment manager Maple-Brown Abbott has entered into an agreement with Hyde Park Investment (HPI) to distribute its UCITS funds in the UK and several countries across Europe including Sweden, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France. 

Maple-Brown Abbott CEO and Managing Director Sophia Rahmani said the partnership with HPI would allow the firm’s UCITS funds to be distributed to a broader range of UCITS fund buyers including wealth managers, family offices and private banks. This distribution agreement would complement Maple-Brown Abbott’s existing relationship with Douse Associates, which has been a quality partner for 17 years with a focus on institutional investors and their consultants, and some UCITS buyers in the UK and Switzerland. 

“We are aiming to build on our existing presence across the UK and Europe for our existing UCITS funds – global listed infrastructure and Asian equity income – as well as funds we are looking to launch in the future such as global emerging markets,” Ms Rahmani said. “We believe we have compelling and differentiated investment capabilities, which are managed by globally recognised and award-winning teams. This includes the long-standing integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the investment process for all our strategies, with our existing UCITS funds all registered Article 8.  

They are confident that the HPI team is aligned with their culture and values at Maple-Brown Abbott, and believe that HPI’s distribution model, with experienced teams on the ground in the UK, Sweden, France, Italy and Spain and its strong track record in attracting assets, will broaden its investor base in these markets, according to Rahmani’s statement.

Commenting on the new agreement, Hako Finckenstein, Director, Hyde Park Investment, added, “We are delighted to be representing Maple-Brown Abbott’s UCITS funds in the UK and Europe. This partnership is a natural alignment of our businesses and values, particularly our mutual commitment to ESG. Maple-Brown Abbott has nearly 40 years of excellent investment pedigree and a unique product offering which resonates strongly with the market. 

“We are encouraged by the interest our clients have shown already, especially in relation to Maple-Brown Abbott’s integrated ESG capability.”

Ms Rahmani concluded: “As a world class boutique investment manager with a range of differentiated investment strategies, we are excited to be working with two established and well-respected partners to continue to build deeper relationships with existing and future clients in the UK and Europe.”

Bank of America, NVIDIA and Microsoft Lead JUST 100

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JUST Capital, along with media partner CNBC, released the 2023 Rankings of America’s Most JUST Companies, including the marquee JUST 100. The Rankings are the only comprehensive evaluation of how the nation’s largest corporations perform on the Issues that matter most to Americans today, including creating jobs in the U.S., paying a fair, living wage, acting with integrity at the leadership level, supporting workforce retention and training, protecting worker health and safety, providing benefits and work-life balance, protecting customer privacy, minimizing pollution, and more.

Out of the 951 analyzed companies, Bank of America is America’s Most JUST Company for the first time, having risen steadily in the Rankings over the past five years, from #104 in 2018 to #71 in 2020 to #5 in 2022, to the #1 spot in the 2023 Rankings.

Bank of America’s standout leadership on Workers Issues – particularly its efforts to pay all employees a fair, living wage – especially drive this high performance, as well as its work to offer sustainable financing products, eliminate barriers for hiring, and prioritize board diversity and independence.

This year, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Accenture, Truist Financial, Verizon, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Apple, Intel, and JPMorgan Chase round out the top 10.

“This recognition reflects our commitment to Responsible Growth,” said Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America. “That includes all we do to be a great place to work: Investing in our teammates and creating opportunities to help them grow and develop their careers. At the same time, by delivering Responsible Growth we help create jobs, develop communities, foster economic mobility, and address some of society’s biggest challenges.”

For the annual Rankings, JUST Capital collects and analyzes corporate data to evaluate the 1,000 largest public U.S. companies across 20 Issues identified through comprehensive, ongoing public opinion research on Americans’ attitudes toward responsible corporate behavior. JUST Capital has engaged more than 160,000 participants, on a fully representative basis, since 2015.

Crucially, across every demographic surveyed – political affiliation, race, gender, age, or income group – Americans are united in wanting companies to prioritize Workers as the most important stakeholder and Pays a fair, living wage as the most important business Issue today. Over the last six years, Americans have consistently prioritized Worker Issues most highly among all 20 Issues JUST Capital tracks and measures, and this year that outcome has become even more pronounced. Paying a fair, living wage has more than doubled in priority since 2020 (from 9% to 21%), and four of the five Worker Issues regarding wages, health, training, and benefits are among the top six priorities of the public, reinforcing that these issues have become increasingly critical in the minds of American workers and consumers.

About its Methodology

Since 2015, JUST Capital has surveyed over 160,000 Americans – representative of the U.S. adult population – on what they believe U.S. companies should prioritize when it comes to just business behavior. JUST Capital’s latest Issues Report – which includes responses from 3,000 respondents – uses a Max-Diff discrete choice modeling technique that asks Americans what business behaviors are most and least important to defining a just company and then assigns a weight to each based on the probability that a respondent would choose that issue as most important. Those Issues become the foundation by which JUST Capital tracks, analyzes, and incentivizes corporate behavior change. The organization evaluated 951 companies across 20 Issues, five stakeholders, and 245 unique data points to produce the ranking model that drives America’s Most JUST Companies, including the JUST 100 and Industry Leader lists.

High-Net-Worth Investors Embrace Alternative Investments

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Alternative investing is gaining momentum among high-net-worth (HNW) investors (those with $5 million or more in total investable assets). Up from 7.7% of client portfolios in 2020, HNW clientele now have an average of 9.1% of their assets allocated to alternative investing options, and advisors expect this to increase to 9.6% by 2024, according to The Cerulli Report—U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets 2022: Shifts in Alternative Allocations.

There are numerous reasons advisors are adding alternative investments to client allocations. Portfolio diversification (50%) to help reduce volatility, along with new growth opportunities (50%), are among the top cited.

“Advisors—disappointed in public equity and fixed-income returns—are allocating more to private capital exposures,” says Chayce Horton, research analyst. “By expanding opportunities into private asset and credit markets, affluent and HNW investors are better equipped to properly diversify their portfolios.”

Moving forward, HNW practices report strong intentions to increase alternative investments in almost all strategies over the next two years. Private equity leads the way, with 50% of advisors and executives planning to increase their allocations, followed by private real estate (45%) and direct investments/co-investing (32%). A vast majority (94% or more) of surveyed HNW practices expect to maintain or grow their positions in all types of alternative investment opportunities, outside of hedge funds.

HNW practices are also increasing offerings such as alternative manager search and selection as a primary service, growing from 50% in 2016 to 67% in 2022. Cerulli expects this trend among HNW practices to persist as private markets continue to mature and prospects for additional tailwinds in the space proliferate. “Practices competing in the HNW advisory space should consider making these types of alternative investment consulting and implementation services a core part of their offering,” says Horton. “Access to alternative opportunities is a beneficial aspect of advisors’ service offerings that has proven to both attract and retain HNW clients over time.”