Latin Finance - March/April 2009 - 22

andré esteves Skin in the Game by James Crombie ust a few blocks west of UBS’s Manhattan base is a pristine and well-appointed office overlooking St. Patrick’s cathedral from the 25th floor. Other than a huddle of traders at one end and some flat screen TVs dotted around, the main focus is stunning views of New York. But this blank canvas illustrates how André Esteves hopes to profit from his new partnership, founded on a model that goes back hundreds of years. “Anyone with trading skills, capital and no legacy probably will go far in an environment like this,” Esteves tells LatinFinance in an exclusive midFebruary interview. “Having no legacy is a huge competitive advantage right now,” adds the head of BTG, a recently formed global investment boutique. Legacy for Esteves means toxic assets on balance sheet, which BTG gladly lacks. Despite Madoff, Stanford and the hundreds of billions of dollars lost by investors and banks in the ongoing markets rout, Brazilian billionaire Esteves is in fundraising mode and positive about his ability to meet target. BTG aims to get its fund – set up in 2008 – above $3 billion among proprietary equity and third party investments this year. It had $600 million equity capital and more than $1 billion under management as of February. Although he admits the environment is hostile to cash raising, Esteves appears undaunted. “More than $3bn among proprietary equity and third party investments – even in this environment – is achievable,” says the fresh faced and unassuming former banker. The focus is on high net worth individuals and institutional investors. The partnership structure, which J After rising to the top at UBS, André Esteves is back with a global boutique. As markets continue to rupture, the Brazilian financier sees nothing but opportunity. Best time to launch: Esteves collects a prize from central bank governor Henrique Meirelles means BTG participates in all funds, creates alignment of interests well suited to the times, says Esteves. “People are working to increase their own stake in the company and have substantial part of their wealth invested and locked for the long term. These kinds of things are appropriate for a challenging environment.” Asked where the liquidity lies, Esteves says, “It’s all over the place, but generally [with] those investors who like to invest with someone with a lot of skin in the game, with a good track record, good levels of governance, and transparency.” The private partnership was founded last year by Esteves, former global head of fixed income, currency and commodities of UBS, chairman and CEO of UBS LatAm and CEO of Banco Pactual. Persio Arida, former governor of the Brazilian central bank, as well as several former partners of Banco Pactual and UBS executives also joined. The UBS departures to BTG, including Esteves’ move, were framed by some Pactual partners as a direct consequence of UBS’s decision to scale down global risk taking and proprietary trading in the wake of its first big writedown. 22 LATINFINANCE March/April 2009

Latin Finance - March/April 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Latin Finance - March/April 2009