The ETF industry continues to grow, and financial advisors need specialized training on the subject. In this context, BlackRock, in partnership with the Kaplan Financial Planning School, has launched a portfolio construction and ETF certification program for financial advisors.
The new program is designed to equip advisors with comprehensive resources and tools to have more informed conversations about the opportunities ETFs could bring to their clients’ portfolios, the School—founded in 1972—announced in a statement.
Among other topics, the course covers an understanding of ETF fundamentals, highlights global trends transforming the industry, and explores how ETFs can be used to build a wide range of diversified investment portfolios. The program is available through the university’s state-of-the-art learning platform, and students have up to 120 days to complete it.
“ETFs have revolutionized the way investors build portfolios and have increasingly become the preferred vehicle for many,” said Daniel Prince, Head of iShares Product Consulting at BlackRock in the U.S.
“Product innovation and investor education are the foundation of how we empower investors with choices and easy access to help them achieve financial well-being. We are excited to partner with Kaplan to help financial advisors deepen their knowledge of different investment strategies and how they can be implemented in portfolios,” he added.
In 2024, the U.S. ETF industry experienced unprecedented growth, with more than 650 new ETFs launched by December 2024, surpassing the previous year’s record by over 150. Additionally, in 2024, net inflows reached approximately $1.1 trillion, exceeding the previous record of $901 billion set in 2021.
JP Morgan Private Bank continues to expand its team in Miami with the hiring of Nando Costa.
The banker, with nearly 20 years of experience, coordinates a team of specialists to design strategies for investments, lending, trust and estate planning, philanthropy, among other tasks described in his LinkedIn profile.
Costa, originally from Brazil, began his career at Morgan Stanley in 2006 before moving to JP Morgan Private Bank, where he worked from 2010 to 2018.
“We are pleased to welcome Nando Costa as executive director and banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in our Miami office. Throughout his career, Nando has built long-term relationships with centers of influence and enjoys connecting clients with like-minded individuals to explore synergies,” Garza posted.
Costa works closely with business owners, executives, entrepreneurs, and U.S.-based families with international ties who seek the sophisticated capabilities of an industry leader, according to his profile description.
The risks to the U.S. economy and inflation following Donald Trump‘s return to the White House dominated much of the discussion at the annual dinner where CFA Society Miami shares its economic outlook.
This time, the featured speakers were Eugenio Alemán, Chief Economist at Raymond James, and Jim Bianco, President of Bianco Research. The discussion was once again moderated by Jeremy Schwartz, Global CIO at WisdomTree, who proudly wore a Philadelphia Eagles jersey, celebrating the team from his hometown, the latest Super Bowl champions.
Guillermo Rodríguez González-Valadez, President and Director of CFA Society Miami, opened the event by emphasizing the organization’s important role as a hub for networking and exchanging ideas among its members.
He also highlighted CFA Society’s educational work with local universities such as Miami University, FIU, and UF, noting that students interested in finance can now start their CFA Charterholder certification as early as their junior year of college.
But before the dinner, Funds Society spoke with the two speakers and the moderator.
The Effects of Trump
Eugenio Alemán explained that after growing 2.8-2.9% in 2024, the U.S. economy is expected to grow 2.4% this year, driven by fiscal expansions inherited from the Biden administration. However, he warned that potential tariffs announced by Trump could reduce growth to 1.8-1.9% and also impact inflation.
“The January inflation report was bad: it rose 0.5% instead of the expected 0.3%, with housing costs decreasing but other factors rising. Trump‘s administration’s tax cuts, especially in federal spending, could negatively impact the economy, affecting consumer and business confidence,” he stated.
“The Fed has not yet reached its 2% target, and the imposition of tariffs could make inflation control more difficult,” Alemán added.
In his view, the biggest risk is the shift in consumer and business confidence, which could lead to an economic slowdown. “Federal government workers and multiplier effects could be severely affected, leading to broader economic issues,” he predicted.
Investment Strategies
The one-on-one discussion between Jim Bianco and Funds Society focused on market expectations and investment strategies in this uncertain environment. The expert introduced the concept of the “4-5-6 market” and forecasted returns of 4% for cash, 5% for bonds, and 6-7% for stocks in the coming years, highlighting inflation’s impact on interest rates.
Bianco explained that inflation has pushed the Fed‘s next rate cut back to September. “The bond market has suffered significant losses due to rising rates from near-zero levels, but that phase is now behind us, with an average bond market coupon of 5%,” he pointed out.
He revisited the concept of TINA (“There Is No Alternative”), arguing that cash and bonds now provide viable alternatives to stocks. According to him, the traditional 60/40 portfolio is evolving, with bonds potentially offering returns similar to stocks but with lower volatility.
Finally, in his interview with Funds Society, Jeremy Schwartz predicted that the 10-year Treasury yield could rise to 5.5% due to a potential Fed pause and historical interest rate trends. This, in his view, could pressure stock valuations.
“Earnings estimates for the year are high: between 16-17%, a significant increase from the previous 8-9%,” he said. His short-term outlook is cautious, but he expects 6-7% long-term returns, based on earnings yields and inflation. He also warned of the risk of a market correction due to high earnings expectations.
The panel also discussed the role of passive investing in equities and fixed income, with Bianco suggesting that there could be a shift toward active management in equities in a slower-growth market. Other key topics included long-term productivity trends and the impact of AI on the U.S. economy.
In a 2025 marked by Donald Trump‘s frenetic political and media activity, portfolio diversification is no longer the doctrine of the model investor but a matter of survival. Without rushing or overreacting, Montevideo firms are considering how to strengthen their portfolios while making some moves.
AIVA: High-Quality Fixed Income and Caution with Emerging Markets
Analysts at AIVA Asset Management* point out that the Biden administration also imposed tariffs, albeit more quietly, and that Trump’s first term taught us that making noise is a key strategy for the current U.S. president.
Volatility in the coming years is a certainty, and Carmela Hernández, Investment Specialist at AIVA Asset Management, highlights that fixed income continues to offer attractive opportunities in high-quality, medium-duration bonds, providing stability and protection against fluctuations.
In equities, the U.S. and Europe still present opportunities, with sectors that could benefit from the anticipated economic policies. However, while selective opportunities exist in emerging markets, caution is essential, as these markets may face greater challenges due to potential trade retaliation and adjustments to global growth.
Nobilis: Diversifying Beyond the U.S.
Looking at history and valuations is crucial in these times. Nobilis analysts note the optimism among U.S. investors and question how long the S&P 500 can keep rising.
Mauricio Tchilingirbachian, Commercial Manager at Nobilis, suggests preparing portfolios with a global and diversified industry approach, avoiding overconcentration in the U.S. and technology sector, even though this segment has yielded the best returns over the past decade.
“Additionally, given the increased correlation between bonds and stocks in recent years and concerns about a potential high-inflation and high-interest-rate scenario impacting corporate earnings, we see value in diversifying portfolios by incorporating private alternative assets, such as private debt, which offer better returns than high-yield bonds and are less volatile than investment-grade bonds,” Tchilingirbachian adds.
The Time for Alternative Assets – Gastón Bengochea
In 2025, alternative asset investment is gaining traction in the Montevideo market, which has traditionally been cautious in this segment.
Diego Rodríguez, from Gastón Bengochea, summarizes the shift in the firm’s portfolios:
“We have been adding mid and small caps in the U.S., as we believe conditions are favorable for strong performance, at least in the early years of Trump’s presidency. We continue to increase bond exposure, favoring seven-year duration bonds, and are beginning to incorporate more private debt alternative assets.”
Vinci Compass Favors U.S. and Latin American Equities
Vinci Compass maintains a constructive risk stance in asset allocation, with a slight overweight in equities, favoring the U.S. and Latin America, the latter supported by a favorable commodities environment. In fixed income, they remain underweight, holding cash positions amid persistent volatility.
Renzo Nuzzachi, CFA, Head of Intermediaries Latam, explains that in equities, they favor global strategies with a core bias:
“The core bias in equities helps avoid overexposure to a single factor in a context of high valuations and amid potential market leadership shifts, such as the DeepSeek event.”
In fixed income, Vinci Compass prefers flexible strategies in both asset types and duration:
“Being flexible in fixed income is crucial, as spreads are at historic lows. Strategies that can navigate between different fixed-income segments will have better chances of strong performance. Likewise, being flexible in duration is key, as interest rate volatility is likely to persist throughout the year. The market is still adjusting its expectations regarding growth, the deficit, and inflation following the new U.S. government’s measures,” concludes Nuzzachi.
PUENTE Prioritizes High-Quality Segments
At PUENTE, analysts also note strong valuations in U.S. equities.
Nicolás Cristiani, Head of Wealth Management for the Punta del Este office, believes this is the time to be selective, prioritizing high-quality segments in the equity market:
“In fixed income, attractive entry points have emerged given the high interest rates, especially in short- and medium-duration bonds, to mitigate price volatility. Additionally, alternative investments could be a suitable option, with a focus on private credit and private equity, leveraging macroeconomic stability, long-term potential, lower volatility, and attractive expected returns.”
BECON IM: Between Trump’s Bluff and a Necessary Reflection
“We believe Trump’s tariffs are more of a negotiation tactic than a revenue-generating effort. However, there is more than enough uncertainty around them to make investors reflect,” says BECON IM.
The Rio de la Plata-based firm remains long-term constructive on U.S. growth and summarizes its portfolio strategy as follows:
“Maintaining calm during volatility is essential to capitalize on opportunities in both fixed income—where we overweight short-duration bonds, emerging markets, ABS/CMBS, private debt, and multi-sector strategies—and equities, where we favor small caps (at historically attractive levels), value stocks, and real estate.”
Buda Partners: Hedged Assets and a Focus on Emerging Markets
For Buda Partners analysts Guillermo Davies and Paula Bujía, the greatest risk is that inflationary pressures could be high enough for the Fed not only to abandon rate cuts but also for the market to start pricing in rate hikes.
“While this is not our base scenario, its probability is not insignificant,” they note.
“At Buda, we recommend a medium duration in fixed income (3x-4x) and have maintained exposure for over a year to naturally inflation-hedged assets, such as energy stocks and gold. We also favor diversification outside the U.S., prioritizing emerging markets and core global funds with exposure to Europe and Asia.”
LATAM ConsultUs: Applying Common Sense
LATAM ConsultUs recommends flexibility, diversification, and hedging mechanisms—and, above all, a healthy dose of common sense, which they say is “the least common of senses,” in the face of market volatility.
“While Trump’s tariff announcements triggered immediate market reactions, the long-term fundamentals of many companies remain unchanged. This highlights the difference between short-term noise and the factors that truly affect an investment’s value.
That’s why, before reacting to market movements, we ask: Does this event fundamentally change the companies or assets I’m invested in? Often, the answer is no. Keeping your focus on the long-term value of your investments helps avoid costly emotional decisions,” says Deborah Amatti.
Photo courtesyIgnacio Saralegui, Head of Portfolio Solutions for Latin America
Vanguard will explore how financial advisors can play a crucial role in helping their clients stay calm and disciplined through behavioral coaching during its presentation at the V Funds Society Investment Summit in Houston.
The event, set to take place on March 6 at the Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria, is designed for professional investors from Texas and California engaged in the US Offshore business. The presentation, titled “Staying the Course,” will be led by Ignacio Saralegui, Head of Portfolio Solutions for Latin America at Vanguard.
“In the world of investments, maintaining discipline is essential for achieving long-term financial success. However, in a volatile and uncertain market environment, it is easy to be driven by emotions and make impulsive decisions that can negatively impact results,” said the firm in a statement. Founded in 1975 in the United States, Vanguard now has a presence in Europe, Australia, and Asia, in addition to the Americas.
Based on research conducted by Vanguard, Saralegui will highlight strategies and practices that have proven effective in maximizing market opportunities. The firm will also present “relevant statistics that underscore the added value advisors can offer their clients.”
Ignacio Saralegui
The speaker at the Houston event joined Vanguard in 2017 and was previously part of the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) team, where he managed investment portfolios for endowments, foundations, and pension plans. Before joining Vanguard, he spent ten years at Willis Towers Watson, advising institutional investors on all aspects of portfolio construction, implementation, and risk management.
Academically, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Old Dominion University and a Master of Science in Risk Management from the New York University Stern School of Business. He also holds the FINRA Series 7 license.
Safra National Bank’s International Private Banking has added Álvaro Catao and Jaime Fernando De Bettio as Directors, the bank announced on its official LinkedIn profile. The office is located in Aventura, Florida.
“Mr. Catao and Mr. De Bettio bring extensive private banking experience and will focus on serving the Brazilian market,” the entity added. Both professionals had joined StoneX together in May 2023 and were also Vice Presidents of Wealth Management at UBS, always in Miami.
“I am delighted to announce that I have joined the International Private Banking team at Safra National Bank of NY in Aventura, Florida, as a Director,” Catao wrote on his LinkedIn account. “We are excited about the opportunity to work at a first-class institution, truly global and with strong roots in Brazil,” he added.
For his part, De Bettio also wrote on his LinkedIn profile: “We are eager to take on new challenges and contribute to our clients, colleagues, and friends!”
Álvaro Catao has more than 35 years of experience: he worked at Lehman Brothers (1987-1992), Ibolsa (2000-2003), Pactual Capital Corporation (2003-2006), J.P. Morgan (2010-2015), and UBS (2016-2023), until he joined StoneX along with De Bettio, according to his Finra profile.
Jaime De Bettio first worked in Brazil and arrived in Miami in 2010 to join Morgan Stanley, where he served as Associate Director between 2013 and 2018. He later joined UBS, where he held the position of Vice President of Wealth Management until 2023, when he was recruited by StoneX.
Héctor Contreras, an international client advisor at Morgan Stanley, has joined the firm’s Century Club, as announced by Contreras, who is based in Houston, in a post on his LinkedIn profile.
“I am very proud to announce that I have been named a member of the prestigious Century Club of Morgan Stanley, an exclusive group of the firm’s financial advisors,” Contreras wrote on the professional networking platform. “I appreciate this recognition of my dedication to providing first-class service to my clients,” he added. Less than a month ago, he was promoted to Senior Vice President at the investment bank, where he has worked since 2014.
The Century Club of Morgan Stanley is an exclusive group of financial advisors. To become a member, advisors must meet certain criteria for performance, conduct, compliance, revenue, experience, and assets under supervision.
Before joining Morgan Stanley, Contreras—a graduate of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey—worked as an advisor at Citi, Chase, and Merrill Lynch.
HSBC has added 30 years of experience to its wealth management business with the addition of Arturo Montemayor.
The advisor, who was registered in BrokerCheck on February 4, joins from Merrill Lynch, where he had been working since September 2021.
Montemayor, a well-known figure in Miami’s industry, has worked at major banks throughout his career.
He began his career at Citi in 1984 for the Mexico office, initially in corporate banking and real estate before moving into private banking. In 2005, he joined Deutsche Bank in Geneva and later in Miami, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He then held positions at the wirehouses Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan, alternating between Miami and New York while working with Latin American clients.
He is an industrial engineer and holds an MBA from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.
The adoption of generative artificial intelligence in the banking sector will experience exponential growth, according to the IBM Institute for Business Value 2025 Outlook for Banking and Financial Markets.
In 2024, 8% of banks systematically developed the technology, while 78% used it tactically. Additionally, the report indicates that more institutions are moving from pilot projects to broader execution strategies. This includes the implementation of agentic AI to improve operational efficiency and customer experience.
Furthermore, banking convergence continues to be a key factor in financial performance, the report adds. The restructuring of business models and processes will be crucial in distinguishing the most competitive banks from the rest.
In this context, 60% of surveyed CEOs believe that accepting a certain level of risk is necessary to leverage the benefits of automation and strengthen their market position.
Another key aspect highlighted in the report is the evolution of customer behavior. More than 16% of consumers globally are already comfortable with fully digital banks that have no physical branches. However, competition is shifting toward higher-value services, such as embedded finance and advisory services for high-net-worth clients and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The report also includes an analysis of industry leaders’ sentiment, customer behavior, and economic data from eight key markets: the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and India. The findings will help financial institutions and their ecosystem partners anticipate the trends shaping the future of the sector.
For more information and access to the full report, please visit the following link.
The rise of the open-ended private equity “PE” fund, colloquially referred to as evergreens, has allowed retail investors who meet certain wealth or income thresholds to access what used to be an asset class that was exclusively available for institutions or very wealthy families. Although the technology is rather new, so far the results have not disappointed.
Most, if not all private equity and venture funds are structured as drawdown vehicles. These types of structures are very long-term oriented, their typical life is 10 to 15 years, and are only open to qualified purchasers (individuals with +$5 million in investable assets). Besides, they do not typically offer redemption or liquidity features whereas the penalties to withdraw from such -if at all contemplated- can be severe.
For new PE investors, ramping up and reaching allocation targets with these types of vehicles is also complicated and takes extensive time as a typical PE fund calls in average about 20% of investor capital commitments on a yearly basis. Besides liquidity, the other great risk these vehicles pose is underperformance and/or poor management, which is a particularly concerning factor given investors are typically locked up for the duration of the partnership and can’t turn into cash like in a periodic liquidity fund.
Drawdown structures however are the preferred vehicle for private equity partnerships and there are clear reasons as to why. Mainly, it takes time and resources for private equity funds to find the right targets to acquire and months to negotiate and close on a deal. Thus, investors are better off keeping the cash in their own accounts -and potentially invested in something else- while the GP finds good opportunities to buy into.
Private Equity though has grown and evolved since its inception about 50 years ago. It is still a young industry that nowadays plays a very large role in the US economy and touches cash-flow positive companies of all shapes and sizes, from a business installing roofs in South Florida to those with global presence worth billions of dollars.
Today, even though PE funds universally employ the drawdown structure, two byproducts of the primary PE industry have grown into their own ecosystems: co-investments and secondaries. Co-investments supply pools of passive equity to top-off the capital needed to complete a fund acquisition. These opportunities exist because of hard-capped fund sizes and diversification rules. Secondaries on the other hand facilitate liquidity to fund partners, “LP’s”. For example, an investor with a portfolio of mature drawdown funds could seek to sell his partnership interests through a specialized secondaries broker, typically at a discount from NAV.
The evolution of the perpetual fund.
Some of the first perpetual private equity funds actually experimented with committing into drawdown funds and keeping cash invested in money market instruments while capital was called on the commitments. However, the cash drag on these instruments was significant, diluting the returns that the underlying funds would have achieved on their own.
The evolution and growth in volume of secondaries and co-investment opportunities has allowed institutional private equity allocators to buy into pools of PE-operated assets, making them suitable for perpetual fund of funds “FoFs” that are continuously raising capital and looking to deploy in parallel. Just for readers to have an idea of sizes, according to Evercore, the secondaries industry has gone from trading $26 Billion annually 10 years ago to a projected $140 billion in 2024.
Setting up open-ended funds requires having relations with dozens if not hundreds of PE funds that may be offering co-investment opportunities and a solid network of secondary brokers to find LP interests at the best discounts possible. Only a limited number of allocators have built the network of providers to access a robust pipeline of “buy” opportunities into high quality assets without risking cash drag or being pushed into lesser quality ones due to a lack of better options.
The formula is also being employed by some of the largest private asset managers in the world. Such firms nowadays have developed multiple strategies that cover different regions (North America, Asia, Europe, Growth, etc) and sectors (Health, SAAS, etc) and their significant deal count on a yearly basis allows for their own proprietary perpetual funds to co-invest alongside the main drawdowns of the firm and grow AUM in unison. These initiatives are still in their early stages but so far have been successful at raising large amounts of capital, particularly from the domestic US RIA channel, in part because of the established names promoting them.
Does retail mean lesser performance or quality?
The Private equity industry and its institutional allocators setting up FoFs seem to finally have “cracked the code” to the open-ended PE fund with the evolution of secondaries and co-investments and the diversification of strategies within the largest PE firms. The technology is here to stay and we will see wider implementation.
Investors with no PE exposure can now tap into very diversified pools of high-quality assets through one single fund, whereas in the past, investors would have had to commit to drawdown vehicles on a fund by fund basis, running the risk of poor performance and no exit avenues. Besides, investors in open-ended funds become immediately invested and are beneficiaries on day one to the performance of underlying assets.
That is not to say that sophisticated and large investors should avoid drawdowns funds altogether, particularly if given the opportunity to invest into a great manager with a top quartile or decile record. The Venture Capital “VC” industry, for instance, which is also exploring how to tap wealth management money, is way behind private equity in creating open-ended funds. Investors seeking to start an allocation to VC would mostly be limited to accessing drawdown vehicles. Having said this, combining the two types of funds may be a good fit for qualifying investors and a great way to achieve high performing private asset allocations on day one.
