Gabriel Ruiz, President, CIO & Partner, BlackTORO

In an interview with Invest:, Gabriel Ruiz, president, CIO, and partner of Black Toro, discussed the firm’s independent advisory model, expansion strategy across Latin America, and the evolution of wealth management services in the region. “Latin America represents 8% of the population but just 3% of wealth. We believe that percentage can increase during the coming years,” Ruiz said.

How does Black Toro’s approach differ from traditional private banking models, and why does that resonate with clients today?

Black Toro exists because we identified a significant gap between developed markets and Latin America in terms of financial services, particularly in wealth management. The brokerage model has an intrinsic conflict of interest because the broker is generally trying to sell products, trading ideas, and portfolio activity. That creates commissions, but it does not always align the broker’s interests with the client’s interests. There is nothing wrong with that model, but it is a different approach to the relationship between clients and the markets.

In the registered investment advisor model, we charge clients a management fee, and we are aligned with them. We cannot receive commissions from product providers, which means we are completely agnostic about products. Because of that, we focus on asset management and building efficient, long-term portfolios for our clients rather than changing positions frequently or simply buying and selling stocks.

In Latin America, the wealth management and private banking market is still dominated by the brokerage model. The trend is for more transparency and more alignment with clients. We believe the RIA model in Latin America will grow faster than the brokerage model.

We also believe wealth in Latin America will continue growing. Latin America represents 8% of the population but just 3% of wealth. We believe that percentage can increase during the coming years. That gives us two drivers at the same time: the growth of the market and the growth of the RIA model within that market.

Why are transparency, independence, and fiduciary responsibility becoming more important to Latin American investors in Miami?

Fiduciary responsibility is key. It is not just about saying that we are transparent or that we are managing a portfolio in the client’s best interest. The regulation imposes that responsibility on us. The client comes first, and we have to prove to the regulator that we acted in the client’s best interest. That is important because the type of service the client receives depends heavily on regulation. If the regulation imposes fiduciary responsibility, transparency becomes a must in the client relationship.

This is especially important in Latin America, where financial education is generally lower than in the United States or Europe. When investors are not highly sophisticated, they need someone who is on their side, transparent, honest, and clear about all costs.

For institutional investors, such as insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds, or sophisticated family offices, working with brokers can make sense because those clients often have a high level of knowledge. But for individual investors who may not have that same financial education, transparency and fiduciary responsibility are essential.

We also work with family offices that need access to more sophisticated products, such as private equity, real estate, private credit, and derivatives. In those cases, we act as an advisor and translator, helping clients understand the risk, return, and opportunities behind those products without having a conflict of interest.

What are the key drivers behind Black Toro’s regional growth strategy?

We have two growth strategies. The first is to grow our team of financial advisors in Miami who cover different countries across Latin America. Today, we have around 10 advisors from different Latin American nationalities working from our Miami headquarters and serving clients who want to invest globally.

More Latin American investors are beginning to diversify their portfolios. Many high-net-worth individuals in the region are business owners, and much of their wealth is already exposed to local risk because their companies are based in their home countries. That means the rest of their wealth should be diversified globally.

Our goal is to grow from around 10 financial advisors today to 20 or 30 over the next three years. To do that, we need to recruit high-quality advisors. In the RIA model, the advisor must be a talented professional because this is not about selling products. It is about advising clients.

The second strategy is to open local operations in Latin America, starting with Argentina, mainly through the mutual fund industry. Asset management through mutual funds is a fee-based business, and asset managers in Latin American countries have fiduciary responsibility.

Argentina has a meaningful mutual fund market, while Chile and Colombia are also large markets. Peru is smaller but has room to grow. Mexico is a sophisticated and developed market in mutual funds, but it is not easy to enter.

Our strategy is to grow organically through financial advisors in Miami while also building local asset management operations in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and eventually Mexico.

How do macroeconomic analysis and technology come together in your investment process?

The investment team is the heart of our business. Our investment style is macro-driven and top-down. After many years in investments and after trying different styles, I believe one clear principle is that when an economy is growing, asset prices tend to rise, and when an economy is in recession, asset prices tend to fall.

We analyze macroeconomic cycles because those cycles exist. Economies do not grow forever without interruption. At some point, inventories build, companies slow production, the labor market deteriorates, and recession begins. After a period of recession, inventories fall, demand returns, and production starts again.

We analyze monetary policy, liquidity, interest rates, and the actions of central banks. Different asset classes perform better in different parts of the macroeconomic cycle, so it is important to identify where we are in each market and to recognize the signals that a cycle may be shifting.

We often invest through ETFs because they allow us to express macroeconomic views through sectors, regions, or asset classes in a cost-efficient way. We use technical analysis, quantitative analysis, and technology to process data quickly as new information is released.

We are not trading every day or betting on one stock against another. Our approach is more focused on sectors, regions, and asset classes, such as the United States versus Europe, the United States versus Asia, or exposure to Latin America through ETFs.

Efficient portfolios must include assets that perform well in different environments and are not necessarily correlated. If a portfolio includes uncorrelated assets, it can have lower volatility. That is what investors want: good returns with controlled volatility.

How do you see cross-border partnerships reshaping wealth management and investment advisory services?

There are strong local players across Latin America. Many of them understand that to run a solid private banking or wealth management business, they need a presence in the United States, especially in Miami.

The challenge is that it is not simple. A firm needs to open a broker-dealer or an RIA, and the hardest part is hiring good people with experience and a strong professional and personal track record.

That is why some institutions look for partnerships. They may say that because we already have a team in Miami, it is easier to sign an agreement with us, create a revenue-sharing structure, and establish a presence through Black Toro.

We are seeing that banks and financial institutions want to have an office or an arm in Miami. Some decide to open their own offices, while others prefer to partner with firms like ours.

The challenge is to convince institutions that the advisory, fee-based, conflict-free model is the right business for the future. Many of them have been running brokerage businesses for decades, and it is not easy to change that mindset.