After spending a few months on the ground in South Florida, I have enough of a feel to share my views on the burgeoning financial services industry here.  

Firstly, my bullish expectations have been exceeded. The one factor I underestimated (and gained only from real-world interaction) is palpable and infectious positivity. The ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ mentality is alive and well here. 

To further analyze the region’s current trajectory and future aspirations, I discussed the rapid ascent of South Florida with Thalius Hecksher over lunch in downtown Fort Lauderdale. An Irish native, Thalius has been banging the “Wall Street South” drum since making the move from Dublin in 2012. Thalius runs Hecksher Partners, a consulting firm that acts as a conduit for financial and professional services firms looking to launch and expand in South Florida. He is also Founder and President of the Florida International Funds Organization (FIFO), which RF|Binder is a proud member of.  

Below is an excerpt from our discussion.

Q. You were one of the OGs in foreseeing SouthFlorida’s potential to emerge as a financial hub. What promise did you see and how has that elevated in recent years?

A. We moved in 2012 off the back of launching and driving Apex Group’s offering into LATAM, where all roads led back to Miami. What I saw early on was that South Florida had all the raw ingredients.When I looked back at Dubai in the early 2000s, you could see the potential and I saw that same for South Florida, except it was already part of the leading economy in the world.  

Around 2012, I felt the region could become a genuine gateway to the Americas for financial services. At that point, I was coming from a global platform and had witnessed the potential of regions – such as Ireland and Luxembourg – go from ground zero to burgeoning financial centers. A jurisdiction needs business-friendly policy, connectivity, talent and a strong supporting ecosystem. South Florida already had much of that latent advantage. 

What has changed in the last several years is the velocity. Miami Hedge Fund Week has grown from a small event I helped start in 2014 into a much larger ecosystem draw; by 2024 it was attracting an estimated 4,000–5,000 international participants, and Global Alts Miami 2026 alone brought together roughly 5,000 managers, allocators and service providers. 

Q. What has surprised you to the upside, and where do you still see room for growth?

A. What has surprised me is how quickly South Florida has evolved from a relocation story into a real operating hub. Initially, people assumed firms would keep the core of their business elsewhere and maintain a lighter presence here. What we’ve seen instead is deeper commitment by major firms that are no longer treating the region as satellite territory. Reporting over the last year has shown South Florida emerging as one of the strongest hedge fund hiring markets in the country.   

Where I still see room for growth is in the institutional depth of the ecosystem. We need more of the full stack on the ground: middle- and back-office infrastructure, specialist legal and compliance talent, technology and data expertise and institutional operations leadership. The front office story has accelerated fast; the next phase is building the operating spine that makes the region durable over decades. FIFO, for example, has been working with the city mayors to build a sustainable Financial Services center to make South Florida the undisputable U.S. onshore servicing hub. 

Q. FIFO represents the fund management industry, and as part of that, the professional services firms essential to a thriving ecosystem. Describe how you have seen growth in both fund launches and back-office support. 

A. One of the most encouraging developments has been that the growth is not limited to managers.A real fund ecosystem only works when the managers are surrounded by high-quality support – legal counsel, fund administration, audit and tax, prime brokerage, regulatory support, compliance, technology, cyber, data and outsourced operating expertise.  

I’ve always operated in that intersection between managers and infrastructure and today at Hecksher Partners we focus on outsourced operations, technology, AI and growth support for investment managers.  I’ve seen firsthand that as markets mature. Managers do not just need capital raising support; they need institutional-quality operating partners.  

Q. Miami is clearly the biggest city and hub in the region. Where else are you seeing traction, along the Miami thru West Palm corridor?   

A. Miami is still the flagship brand internationally, but the real story now is the corridor. When you dig in and get to really understand Florida, you realize it’s so much more than Miami. My hometown, Fort Lauderdale, has become an important midpoint in the ecosystem, especially for firms that want strong connectivity without necessarily being in the center of Brickell.  

Boca Raton and the broader Palm Beach market have also accelerated meaningfully. Palm Beach County’s own economic development reporting says that more than 250 financial firms have relocated or expanded there over the past decade, spanning Boca up through Jupiter. More recently, Wells Fargo announced it is moving the headquarters of its wealth management business to West Palm Beach, which is another sign that the corridor is becoming more institutionally significant. So, one should think about this holistically as a South Florida financial metroplex, not a single-city story.  

Q. South Florida is clearly a gateway to LATAM. What is overlooked is how it also the gateway to the Caribbean, including many important offshore fund jurisdictions. Explain why this is so crucial. 

A. This is an important point, and one that is still under appreciated. South Florida as the gateway to the Caribbean matters enormously for the funds industry because jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands continues to be the pre-eminent domicile for alternative investment funds, with more than 30,000 registered funds that enjoy strong investor familiarity, legal certainty, regulatory infrastructure and structuring flexibility. 

From an operating perspective, we sit in a uniquely valuable position between the U.S. manager community and the offshore and cross-border infrastructure that many managers rely on. That is exactly why the so-called “back office” is not peripheral; it is foundational. If you want a sustainable financial hub, you need the full wheel turning — not just the portfolio manager, but every cog behind them.  

Q. Tell us how FIFO can be seen as a benchmark for measuring growth.What does your member pipeline look like and what are your longer-term goals?   

A. The feedback since inception has been extraordinary and it’s rewarding to see success and incredible momentum at our backs.  

FIFO can be viewed as a practical barometer of financial maturation because it captures not just the investment managers, but the quality and breadth of the ecosystem. When you see growth in membership from managers, family offices, legal and tax firms, administrators, technology providers, compliance specialists and operating partners – that tells you the market is deepening. 

In terms of pipeline, we are seeing strong interest across the value chain — fund managers, plus the professional and infrastructure firms that support them. Longer term, the goal is for FIFO to become the premier industry platform in the South Florida corridor. Consider that Florida is now the 12th largest economy in the world with a clear goal to be in the top 10 by 2028. Together we will achieve the goal.

Thank you, Thalius. Onwards and upwards!