Investing in South Florida: The Growing Financial Services Sector

South Florida is luring more financial services companies to the region, and it’s easy to understand the attraction. Efforts from economic development officials in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties to make South Florida more attractive to fund managers, on top of the region’s proximity to Latin America and a lack of state income tax, are transforming Miami into the new Wall Street South.

Finance in South Florida was the topic of a recent episode of The Sunshine Economy on WLRN. The show, hosted by Tom Hudson and sponsored by Kaufman Rossin, discussed incentives offered by South Florida, and in particular, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, to attract hedge fund managers to the region. To date, there are 10 hedge funds in Miami, but officials hope that number grows considerably over the next few years.

Hedge fund managers cite everything from the weather and the cost of living to the convenient access to Latin American investors as reasons to make the move from larger cities like New York and Los Angeles. In many cases, managers who weigh the costs and benefits realize they’re effectively being paid to bring their hedge funds to South Florida.

Raul Garcia, CPA, financial services principal at Kaufman Rossin, believes that Florida’s fund-friendly policies and tax laws are just a few of the reasons why hedge funds should invest in South Florida.

“South Florida is well on its way to becoming the next financial services powerhouse,” said Raul. “Tax benefits, location and climate, quality of living  – hedge fund managers are quickly discovering all that the region has to offer. It’s a great place to invest.”