Credit Suisse Private Advisors Opens On Brickell

By Samantha Joseph
Credit Suisse, a financial-services company in Zurich, Switzerland, that manages $1 trillion for clients worldwide, has chosen Miami as the base for its North American private advisers’ office.

The subsidiary specializes in European investments. Credit Suisse Private Advisors offers investments in multiple currencies and claims to be one of a handful of firms licensed to advise US clients on investing directly in individual European stocks and bonds rather than through prepackaged deals such as mutual funds.

The firm’s North American head of marketing, Michael Blank, said the decision to open the office in Miami was a strategic move to place the company in the heart of the county’s financial sector and benefit from a market that is brimming with international investors.

The company is one of more than 1,200 multinational corporations that have opened offices in South Florida since last year, according to information from the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade’s economic development group.

Each new business builds on Miami’s reputation as an international commerce center and advances the city’s bid to host the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of Americas, a proposed agreement that could join all the democratic countries in this hemisphere, the council says.

The ability to easily travel to Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and other international markets from Miami International Airport was an important consideration for Credit Suisse, Mr. Blank said.

"For us, Miami was the only place to be," Mr. Blank said this week, citing the city’s diverse population and attractiveness to Latin American businesses. "There was never even a second choice.

"Our office is 25 minutes from the airport. You can’t say that in other cities. There is an ease of access, and you have to look at all of these issues when you’re launching a new office."

The new office is Credit Suisse’s third operation on Brickell Avenue – a sure sign, representatives say, of Miami’s appeal to the Swiss firm.

Credit Suisse Private Advisors opened in March at Four Seasons Hotel and Plaza on Brickell Avenue. It joined Credit Suisse First Boston, an investment bank, and Credit Suisse’s representative office for Latin American business in Brickell. Both are blocks away in the Mellon Bank Building, 1111 Brickell Ave.

"I believe that Miami is the gateway to the Americans and one of the most important cities in this hemisphere," Mr. Blank said. "Choosing Miami was a demonstrative choice."