Credit Suisse advisors join Mexico’s Actinver in recruitment and client deal

Swiss private bank Credit Suisse has signed an agreement with Mexican investment manager Actinver to recruit its advisors and transfer its local clients to the firm, the groups announced on Wednesday.

The deal has Credit Suisse handing over a ‘select portfolio of clients with predominantly domestic needs’ alongside a team of relationship managers to Actinver which has been tapped to provide a wider range of private banking and investment management services to these clients, the firms said.

Actinver will also be handed local custody and trading execution responsibilities over Credit Suisse’s Mexican advisory business sometime next year, while the private bank will retain relationship management services with larger Mexican clients that have ‘more complex global needs,’ a spokesperson for Credit Suisse told Citywire.

The companies also confirmed that the team of Credit Suisse advisors would become employees of Actinver, but did not disclose how many employees would move over.

Neither Actinver nor Credit Suisse revealed how much in assets under management the agreement represents, nor did they reveal the specific profile of the clients involved. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

‘We are excited to announce this strategic alliance with Actinver, a leading Mexican wealth manager, for the next chapter of our growth journey,’ said Nicolas Troillet, CEO of Credit Suisse Mexico and head of the country’s wealth management business.

‘Clients with predominantly domestic needs will benefit from a broader suite of local solutions and services provided by Actinver, meanwhile allowing CS Mexico to further focus and invest in our core strength of advising clients with more complex, global needs,’ he added.

Credit Suisse went on to describe Mexico as a ‘key growth market’ for the firm in Latin America. The firm established its local presence in the country in 1964.

In September 2021, the private bank recruited Morgan Stanley’s former head of investment banking in Mexico Alejandro Ortega Aguayo for a new wealth management-focused post catering to its wealthiest Mexican clients. He was charged with leading and expanding a team of local advisors and reporting directly to Troillet.

Meanwhile, Actinver was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Mexico City. Last year, it spun off its international broker-dealer operation based in Houston, Texas into a new separate entity branded Alterna Securities as part of a move to grow its US offshore business.