Balanz boosts investment desk with senior Santander LatAm PM hire

Argentine wealth management and brokerage firm Balanz has recruited a senior fixed income specialist from Santander Asset Management.

John Montgomery is joining Balanz’s UK-based office as a senior emerging markets and Latin America trader and has also been handed responsibility for further developing Balanz’s emerging market investment business as part of the company’s overall growth strategy.

He will report to Santos Quiroga and Martin Saud, Balanz’s co-heads of global trading and sales.

Montgomery had worked at Santander for over 15 years, spending the bulk of that time working within its asset management business as an analyst and portfolio manager covering Latin America fixed income. He was a member of the portfolio management team led by Alfredo Mordezki, Santander AM’s head of Latin America fixed income.

‘Balanz have had great success in developing their Latam trading business in recent years and have shown to have the ambition to be a key player in that market,’ Montgomery told Citywire in an emailed statement. ‘It’s an exciting time to join a company that continues to look at opportunities to grow in the emerging market space.

Commenting on Montgomery’s hire, Balanz’s Quiroga said: ‘By hiring  John, we reaffirm our commitment to excellence and our drive to continue expanding and growing. Balanz is now a regional player; Argentina was our origin and will remain important, but today we cover all Latin American countries. We will continue to seek talent to become, in the medium term, not just a regional player, but a global one in emerging markets.’