(Bloomberg) — A wealth manager that works with about 250 families is expanding its offerings to assist new generations of heirs who may be living in multiple locations and jet setting around the globe.
Brainvest, with offices in Switzerland, Brazil and the US, expects to hire two more people this year for its “Family Office Solutions” unit, which will increase to about 11 advisers by year-end, founding partner Dany Roizman said in an interview.
“Families are getting more complex, clients are getting older, kids who are now 30 to 40 years old have multiple fiscal domiciles, expenses and income that don’t match what is real life,” said Roizman, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. private banker. “We have families with 100% of the net worth in Brazil or Mexico, but the family is spread out globally. We’re working on how to balance those issues.”
Started in Geneva in 2003 by former partners of Credit Suisse’s Hedging-Griffo unit, Brainvest now manages about $3.5 billion with 80 employees spread across its five offices.
Jan Karsten, who formerly headed Julius Baer’s family office in Brazil, is leading the new unit along with Guilherme Sanches in Sao Paulo. Jacyrandi Steinmann in Switzerland is also focusing on the family business. The unit, which was launched late last year, has a “Chinese wall” with the firm’s other advisers since it manages a broader set of information and reports directly to the board, he said.
Brainvest specializes in alternative-investment options, including real estate, private equity, distressed assets, litigation finance and private credit, according to its website. The firm this month announced a merger with Brazil’s KPC Consultoria, which has about $780 million in assets under management, though the businesses will operate independently.
Brainvest advisers are focused on sustained, long-term returns that are smoothed out over time without sudden jumps or drops, Roizman said.
“We’re not afraid of losing a good investment, but we are afraid of making a bad investment,” Roizman said. “That is why we do not care about FOMO.”
The firm also looks to support “impact investing” ideas from heirs of large fortunes as new generations attempt to change perceptions and put money behind projects such as environmental initiatives, he said.
The challenge, Roizman said, is “how can I make sure the net worth can sustain the current generation but also the next one — so they can create their own self-esteem, without destroying what they received?”
To contact the author of this story:
Daniel Cancel in Sao Paulo at [email protected]
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