Bolton Global Capital has recruited an international advisor from Morgan Stanley for its burgeoning team in Miami, the group announced Thurday.
Ivan Palacino joined the independen broker-dealer this week after almost 10 years at the wirehouse where he catered predominantly to high net worth clients and institutions in Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.
A seasoned advisor with more than 30 years’ experience, Palacino is the latest departure from Morgan Stanley since the introduction of stringent new international account restrictions at the end of last year.
He has joined Bolton a month after the arrival of fellow Morgan Stanley advisor Sergio Sotolongo who covers clients in Argentina, Uruguay and Spain.
They have joined a group of about 50 advisors based in Bolton’s Miami office, led by head of business development Michael Averett. Averett joined the group in February last year from Citi International Personal Bank, where he was its Miami-based regional director.
‘We are looking forward to working with Ivan. He is an insightful industry veteran who undoubtedly will be a key player for the Bolton team,’ said Averett. ‘As we continue to grow, having an advisor of Ivan’s caliber is definitely an exceptional asset for us.’
Palacino began his career in his native Colombia for Banco de Credito before later working for Smith Barney, Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley.
Wirehouse exits
More than two dozen international advisors have left Morgan Stanley since the firm’s announcement last November it was suspending thousands of client accounts below $5m and more than doubling minimum international account requirements as the result of an account-processing backlog.
Sources said earlier this week that the backlog has now been cleared, which should have cleared the way for the firm to lift the temporary restrictions. However, it is understood they will remain in place until early 2024.
The group also recently informed its international advisors it was introducing new account restrictions at the start of next year which will have major implications for its advisors catering to Latin American clients.
One of the most significant changes is that the wirehouse will reduce the account minimum requirements for clients in ‘strategic’ markets like Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay from $2m to $1m as part of a new client model set to be introduced on Jan. 1 2024, according to sources.
Elswhere, the required account minimums for clients from Panama and Bolivia will be increasing fivefold to $10m from $2m while the firm will no longer open new accounts for clients from Venezuela and Nicaragua, effectively closing those markets.
Sources told Citywire that the increases will likely lead to another wave of advisors exits from Morgan Stanley’s international wealth management business.
