Independent broker-dealer Bolton Global Capital has ramped up its expansion in New York City with the addition of Morgan Stanley international advisors Ruben Lerner and Manuel Uranga.
After nine years as managing directors at Morgan Stanley, where they advised on an international client book of $550 million, Lerner and Uranga have launched A Plus Capital, which will be headquartered in Manhattan at 515 Madison Avenue, Bolton has announced.
Junior partner Ariel Materin, client associate Jennifer Ramos and office manager Olga Lopez also join from Morgan Stanley. Materin will manage client acquisition and investment strategy for the team while Ramos will be based in A Plus Capital’s Miami location and Lopez will manage the New York office.
Lerner, originally from Venezuela, and Uranga, from Spain, service clients across Europe, Latin America and the US.
The duo joined Morgan Stanley from Smith Barney, which was then still part of Citi, in 2008 with sales assistants Dolores Alcaide-Mendez and Jennifer Ramos. Alcaide-Mendez remains with Morgan Stanley.
Custody of client assets will be held through BNY Mellon Pershing. Bolton will be providing compliance, back office, and marketing support as well as the wealth management and trading technologies for the A Plus Capital team.
Morgan Stanley confirmed the team’s exit, but declined to comment further.
Bolton’s big plans
The Bolton, Massachusetts-based business is looking to continue to acquire more than $850 million in client assets in New York City market before the end of 2017.
It entered the region in May when former HSBC private banker Ethan Assouline joined the broker-dealer.
Over the last two years Bolton had been targeting advisors in Miami, adding international teams that had left wirehouses and private banks due to internal policy changes during that period. It now has over $4 billion in assets under management from non-US resident clients.
