From Wall Street to Wall Street South: What is Fueling West Palm Beach’s Private Markets Renaissance

When people think of South Florida, they often imagine yachts, beaches, and sunshine. However, beneath the glamorous surface, a financial renaissance is taking place between West Palm and Miami, where a growing number of private markets firms are laying down permanent roots. Beginning during the pandemic, South Florida has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing hubs for alternative investment firms in the United States over the past 5 years.

While headlines about South Florida’s financial renaissance have largely focused on Miami’s tech boom, the surge in private capital—private equity, hedge funds, real estate funds, credit vehicles, and multi-family offices—that are anchoring themselves just a little further north in West Palm Beach is a story that has for the most part flown more under the radar.

As someone based in West Palm Beach, I have first-hand knowledge of its evolution and am constantly marveling at how the town I now call home is transforming into a seasoned playground for alternative investment managers and a serious financial ecosystem that is living up to its ‘Wall Street South’ moniker. The appeal for private market investors is multifaceted, but three important points standout; access to capital, a maturing ecosystem, and infrastructure and talent.

Access to Capital

Firstly, the region’s significant concentration of high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational family offices, foundations, endowments and tax-motivated transplants has created a dense and naturally aligned investor base for alternative asset managers. South Florida—particularly Palm Beach and West Palm Beach—is now second only to New York and San Francisco in billionaire density, making it fertile ground for capital raising and relationship-building. Unlike traditional institutional LPs, many of these investors prefer direct access, nimble structures, and localized partnerships, all of which favor both traditional and niche private markets firms alike. This shift has enabled fund managers to build closer, more strategic relationships with capital partners who are not only geographically accessible but often entrepreneurial in mindset—accelerating fundraising cycles and deepening co-investment opportunities.

Maturing Ecosystem

Secondly, the real estate and credit opportunities emerging in and around West Palm Beach are compelling in both scale and scope. Florida’s population boom has triggered a surge in demand for multifamily housing, industrial assets, infrastructure financing, and transitional lending—key sectors for many alternatives managers. Being based in West Palm Beach offers geographic proximity to these assets and on-the-ground insight into demographic shifts, municipal planning, and local deal flow. Moreover, South Florida’s growing airport hubs and digital infrastructure provide seamless access to broader markets across the Sunbelt, Latin America, the Caribbean, and even Europe. For GPs seeking to blend hyperlocal opportunity sourcing with regional and international reach, West Palm Beach is quickly becoming one of the most strategically situated locations in the country. This together, with a growing network of experienced service providers—from legal advisors, fund administrators, accounting firms, and executive search to communications firms— has helped to mature the financial ecosystem even further thus making the region even more attractive for alternative investment managers.

Infrastructure & Talent

Lastly, there’s momentum from both an infrastructure and talent perspective. Both public officials, such as West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James, and developers like Related Ross and The Frisbie Group recognize the vital need for a best-in-class city infrastructure – including good schools and hospitals – that can stand alongside the natural lifestyle perks associated with living in South Florida, turning places like West Palm Beach into magnets for boutique and mid-sized firms that want the strategic benefits of a business-friendly environment without sacrificing access to capital, talent, and a family-friendly lifestyle. As a result, what was once a seasonal holiday and occasional conference destination has now become a powerful home-base for fund managers with national portfolios.

A Self-Reinforcing Ecosystem

The result is a flywheel effect: as more capital, talent, and deal flow circulate through South Florida, the ecosystem becomes self-reinforcing. Today’s solo GP or emerging PE fund is tomorrow’s anchor tenant in a financial cluster that could potentially rival anything outside of New York or San Francisco. To be clear, this evolution is still in development and the region will need to continue addressing challenges—like infrastructure, housing affordability, and public transportation— over the long-term to sustain this growth and continue attracting alternative investment managers from across the U.S.

However, we at ASC Advisors, a strategic communications firm dedicated to exclusively serving the alternative investment management industry through various stages of their evolution, strongly believe in and are excited by the financial renaissance taking place in South Florida. The potential is hard to ignore and we are excited to be supporting more and more alternative investment managers in the region as they look to both establish and solidify their presence in this important market. 

As with much in the financial world, timing is everything. And right now, the timing feels right for South Florida.

--

Max Rayden is a senior Director at ASC Advisors, a strategic communications firm dedicated to exclusively serving the alternative investment management, and is based in West Palm Beach. Max has spent more than 15 years working within and serving the investment management industry. With a far-reaching and varied background, Max taps into his knowledge of finance and law to support his clients. Earlier in his career, he worked in a variety of roles in the asset management, equity sales, and family office space in both London and New York. During that time, he directed media engagement and brand building strategies as well as sourced investment opportunities. Max is also a non-practicing legal barrister in the UK. Previously, Max spent six years at Edelman Smithfield, where he served as a Vice President on the Financial Services team. While there, he provided alternative investment managers with narrative development, media engagement, special situations & announcement counsel, reputation management, and executive media & presentation coaching services. He has advised clients across the capital markets structure including private equity and credit firms, hedge-funds, VCs, asset managers, and banks. Max was born and educated in London, where he received a BA in Classical Studies from King’s College London, an MA in The History of International Relations from the London School of Economics, a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP Law School, and passed the Bar Professional Training Course at The College of Law. 

###