The investment company Zest announced a strategic alliance with XP Wealth Services, aiming to expand investors’ access to international products and strengthen a new business line targeting high-net-worth clients, Zest announced in a statement.
“This partnership marks an important milestone as it is the first time the XP Wealth Services platform has closed a deal to drive growth in Latin America,” the statement added.
María Noel Hernández, who assumed the position of Director of Wealth Management at Zest Group, will be responsible for driving the growth of the new business unit.
After eight years at Criteria as Executive Director, CEO for Uruguay, and Head of Sales, María Noel Hernández begins a new chapter. Prior to her work at Criteria, she worked at TSS Services as Sales Leader, was Director at Open Publicity, Financial Advisor at Puente, Relationship Manager at Pro Capital SB, and Financial Advisor at Montaldo Sociedad de Bolsa, among other positions.
Objective: Reach $5 billion in assets
“Zest has a business proposition very similar to what we developed in Brazil, with technology, financial education, and qualified professionals as fundamental pillars to revolutionize the local investment industry. We are confident that we have chosen the right partner, especially regarding Zest’s executives, and we see a great opportunity to drive business growth in the Latin American market using the strong investment platform of XP Wealth Services US,” explained Rodolfo Bastos, International Director of XP US.
Zest, founded in 2016 by Arthur Silva, a Brazilian resident in Peru, aims to promote financial education among local investors and lead the development of investment professionals in the country. The company plans to expand by opening branches in Uruguay, Chile, and Colombia with the support of XP Wealth Services US, aiming to reach $5 billion in assets over the next three years and double its team.
“We are investing in democratizing access to capital markets and offering increasingly sophisticated offshore solutions to our clients. There is a flow of tens of billions of dollars from Latin America, mainly invested in the US, and our expansion plans aim to capture these opportunities with a team of qualified specialists. The partnership with XP Wealth Services US comes at a key moment to drive our business and provide us with the necessary technological tools to strengthen Zest’s service,” commented Arthur Silva.
“In markets like Peru, Chile, and Colombia, there are no quality international investment platforms, especially for a clientele with assets between $500,000 and $10 million. These clients seek offshore investment to diversify their portfolios and protect themselves from market fluctuations and political instability with quality service, technology, and business vision,” explained Rafael Pina, Head of Wealth Services at XP in the United States.
Zest Group is a Latin American financial holding company seeking to democratize access to the international capital market for Latin American investors and financial advisors. It currently manages over 5,000 clients and 80 financial advisors. The group’s business approach focuses on financial education and high-tech solutions to meet the needs of both affluent and high-net-worth clients.
XP Inc. is one of the largest investment platforms in Brazil, owning brands such as XP, Rico, Clear, XP Educação, InfoMoney, among others. XP Inc. has 4.6 million active clients and more than R$ 1.1 trillion in assets under custody.
For Magdalena Martínez