Two experienced financial advisors have left UBS International in Miami to set up their own business at Insigneo Financial Group.
Cristina Mendez (pictured left) and Zoraida Diaz (pictured right), who have 15 and 25 years’ international wealth management experience respectively, have launched DM Wealth Management in Miami on Insigneo’s independent advisor network.
Mendez and Diaz had been at UBS since September 2011 and prior to that both worked at Citi for five years. At UBS they oversaw a book of around $150m for clients in Mexico, the US and Venezuela, according to Insigneo.
According to sources, their departure is linked to UBS’s recent decision to clamp down on Venezuelan client accounts, which is part of the firm’s effort to tighten its due diligence and compliance procedures.
Over the past few months, this initiative has driven more than a dozen advisors to leave the Swiss firm’s Miami business in search of a new home for their client books. Insigneo has been one of the beneficiaries of this fresh batch of free agents hitting the market, with two other UBS advisors joining the firm since the start of July.
Raymond James has also been actively recruiting UBS advisors over the past few months, as has Morgan Stanley.
‘We are excited to welcome Cristina and Zoraida to Insigneo where they will leverage our multi-custody, asset management and family office platform as well as our technology offering,’ Javier Rivero, Insigneo’s chief operating officer, told Citywire Americas.
