Investment adviser Americana Partners is launching a Latin American division with a special focus on wealthy families in Mexico.
Americana, based in Houston with $7 billion in assets under management, announced Tuesday it has hired Jorge Suárez-Vélez, a former managing director at Allen & Company Investment Advisors, to lead the effort, serving as chief executive officer and founding partner.
To start, Americana Partners International will primarily cater to ultra high-net-worth families in Mexico that are looking to diversify their investments, and who have younger generations needing family office services in the US. Assets at the new division will start at about $600 million, according to Americana CEO Jason Fertitta.
“We have some of the most sophisticated family offices in Mexico City and Monterrey behind this initiative,” he said.
Americana is “well-positioned to develop this opportunity, since many Texas families have a lot of experience investing with families in North Mexico,” said Suárez-Vélez.
He added that connecting Americana’s US-based families with Mexican peers “to mutually provide access to investment opportunities that diversify risks they’re currently exposed to” is part of the logic for the venture.
Texas and Mexico City are well-represented on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the world’s 500 richest individuals. Texas is home to 23 members of the index, and five of the list’s 21 billionaires from Latin America live in Mexico City.
Suárez-Vélez, a former CEO of ING Private Wealth Management who has deep roots in Mexico, said a surge in global protectionism, which can hinder growth in middle-income countries, makes it all the more important wealthy families in those areas have access to opportunities in more developed nations.
He also predicted some of the stronger companies in Mexico will want to diversify amid concerns that constitutional reforms will overhaul the Mexican judiciary before a new government takes over in October. Since the June 2 election, the Mexican peso has fallen more than 5% against the US dollar, denting the fortunes of Mexico’s largest moguls including Carlos Slim and German Larrea.
“Families maybe don’t have a lot of capacity to grow more in Mexico but have a lot of cash,” said Suárez-Vélez. “There is a lot of interest in income-producing real estate in the US that is uncorrelated to the types of risk they take with their companies in Mexico.”
The firm anticipates helping families navigate US opportunities in artificial intelligence, biotech and energy, with many families at Americana already in oil and gas.
The investment banking arm of Dynasty Financial Partners served as exclusive financial adviser to Americana Partners and provided financing to help support the transaction.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.