A band of Wall Street executives, bankers and fund managers are leaving New York for Florida, adopting the State of the Sun instead of metropolitan New York while the coronavirus pandemic has eliminated many benefits of working in a global financial center.
Since legions of financial sector employees started working from home in March, Florida’s warm weather, low taxes, affordable space and quick and easy flights back to New York, when necessary, have raised their status.
About 30 major financial firms are “kicking the tires” in South Florida, said Kelly Smallridge, who runs an economic development agency in Palm Beach County. A handful of them are serious about moving people there, she said.
Companies like Elliott Management, Citadel and Moelis & Co are among the last to say they will either open satellite offices there or allow their money earners to be based in Florida, executives said.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc also plans to transfer some asset management employees there, people familiar with the matter said.
In the past, Wall Street executives have rejected the idea of living in Florida because of concerns about schools, culture and networking opportunities.
Much of this has been eliminated as remote work and learning has taken over New York, while restaurants, museums and other places remain closed because of blocking measures to prevent the virus from spreading.
That made Florida’s relaxed lifestyle and business-friendly practices more attractive, bankers and investment professionals said.
Florida is part of a broader trend, with large financial companies moving teams from expensive cities like New York and San Francisco to lower-cost centers in U.S. states like Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
To many New Yorkers, Florida seems closer culturally and physically than other states. It is in the same time zone and has more Big Apple expats than can be found in Salt Lake City or Nashville, the sources said.
Dining outdoors all year round is another advantage, along with the absence of state income tax. Houses and apartments generally cost less, and commercial rentals are about half the price of Manhattan in places like Palm Beach County.
“I absolutely love it here and I’m trying to get some friends to move here,” said Kevin Couper, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, who moved to South Florida six months ago. “People can live their lives here.”
Couper’s vision reflects what many of his fellow Wall Street executives are saying: if they can’t be in Manhattan’s skyscraper offices and enjoy theaters, shows and restaurants, they prefer to be close to the beach.
INCREASE IN NUMBER OF PATIENTS
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis prioritized the state’s economy over strict coronavirus protections. In September, he declared Florida open for business, preventing local governments from limiting the capacity of restaurants, even though many other states restricted indoor dining.
Florida is one of 13 states with no mask mandate.
Coronavirus hospitalizations in Florida increased 32% to 5,634 people on Wednesday, from 4,280 on December 1, according to a Reuters count. This is the fifth largest in the country, behind California, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania.
Supporters of DeSantis argue that his approach saved jobs and helped businesses in Florida.
Couper and others said that they take the pandemic seriously, but that people should be able to make their own choices about wearing masks and dining out.
Hedge fund Elliott Management, which manages $ 41 billion, says it plans to open an office in West Palm Beach next year. Its executive co-chair, Jonathan Pollock, worked in Florida during the pandemic.
Citadel, the hedge fund, hopes to open an office in Miami next year. Founder Ken Griffin, a native of Florida, put the state to the test when he transferred some brokers from Citadel Securities, its separate electronic trading business, from New York and Chicago to the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach.
Blackstone Group Inc also plans to open an office for hundreds of back-office technology employees near Miami, he said.
Goldman Sachs’ asset management arm is looking to South Florida, the sources said. The bank has no specific plans to advertise, but is looking to place more jobs in “high-value” locations across the country, a spokesman said.
Deutsche Bank Group AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co have long had offices in Jacksonville, while many hedge funds have been based in Miami or Palm Beach for years.
Although Moelis does not plan to open an office in Florida, CEO Ken Moelis told Bloomberg TV that he was happy to have the top negotiators working there, if they so choose.
“The pandemic has essentially taken five years of a slow process and has accelerated it,” said Alan Johnson, who works with financial CEOs as head of consulting firm Johnson Associates. “Companies realize that you don’t have to be in Midtown Manhattan, and employees are fine with that.”
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