The Brazilian unit of private banking firm Julius Baer Group Ltd announced that it would be opening offices outside of Brazil's two largest cities. The move to open branches outside Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro came as the lender sought to look for wealthy clients who are living outside the big financial centers.
GPS Investimentos Financeiros & Participacoes would be opening branches in Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre. These outlets would serve clients living in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul. GPS Investimentos Founder and Partner Jose Eduardo Martins told Bloomberg that the branches would be staffed by 15 people.
"The agricultural and mining commodities boom of the past years and the Brazilian emerging middle-class created a whole new world for wealthy people in Brazil that is far away from the big centers," he said.
Despite a slower growth felt in the Brazilian economy, the GPS grew its assets under management to BRL 16 billion from its May 2012 figure of BRL 11 billion. Martins said its acquisition of wealth management firm Bawm Investments contributed 10% to the growth of its assets under management in the past year.
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