A company spokesman said the new office, the company’s first in the Caribbean, was expected to open sometime in the third quarter of 2012, and would probably be located in George Town on Grand Cayman, the largest and most developed of the three Cayman islands.
Until now, few financial advisers have sought to base themselves in the Caymans, in spite of the jurisdiction’s expertise in other aspects of financial services, and its attraction as a tax haven for wealthy individuals. Islanders say that for this reason, individuals who live there typically get their advice from wealth managers located in New York or London.
News of deVere’s expansion into the Caribbean comes as the company’s ambitious plans to expand in the American market continue to be rolled out.
As reported, deVere revealed last month that it had named an experienced Guernsey wealth management executive, Adrian Flambard, to head up the company’s new New York City outpost – located in the Art Deco Chrysler Building – which now also has nine recently-appointed client advisers. Another 16 are due to be hired by the end of the year.
DeVere chief executive Nigel Green has said that the company hoped to have an office "in every major financial hub in the States within five to 10 years", beginning with a total of six US offices up and running within the next 18 months.
Based in Zurich, with a key management and operations hub in Malta, deVere is privately-held, and claims to be the largest financial advisory firm worldwide based on the number of offices it operates.
