We introduce you to Miguel Ángel Soriano, founder and director of CapitalSur Advisors. Soriano has developed his career in private banking for the last 25 years, always occupying positions of responsibility in the management of client assets, initially as “Wealth Advisor” at Banco Inversión and later in entities such as Santander Investment and Banif, since the year 1997; as well as director of private banking in Sabadell Urquijo and in the last stage as director of the Banco Madrid office in Marbella. Miguel Ángel Soriano has a degree in Business Sciences from the University of Jaén.
Interview with Miguel Ángel Soriano, from CapitalSur Advisors
- When and how did you get into the financial sector? Did you have another vocation?
I arrived by chance, I had never thought about this sector. I completed the first three years of Medicine at the University of Navarra, but family reasons made me return to my city, Jaén, where I studied Business Sciences by default. While studying, I had a small contact in commercial banking, going through export-import issues until I began my professional career in private banking through Banco Inversión in my city (Marbella), where I really got caught up in a new vocation that arose without looking for it and which has given me a lot of satisfaction to this day. Therefore, an “accident” has never been something so opportune that it has marked my life for the last 27 years dedicated to wealth advice in private banking entities.
- Taking a brief overview of your work life, what would you highlight about your professional career?
My short beginnings in private banking were through Banco Inversión where I met great professionals, some of whom I still maintain contact with; an experience that allowed me to make the leap to the entity that at that time I understood as one of the best private banking entities in Spain, Banco Santander de Negocios, later Banif. I learned a lot about the sector for almost six years, I trained in private banking and had access to all the necessary tools to become a professional. In 2004 I joined Banco Urquijo (SabadellUrquijo) where I worked for ten years surrounded by a great team and I have to say that I was very happy enjoying a great work environment and professionalism. In 2014 I became the director of the Banco Madrid office in Marbella and events led me to undertake in 2015 and create CapitalSur Advisors, a Bankinter high net worth agency with which I decided to associate to this day.
Of these 27 years, I would highlight what I have achieved, becoming a professional respected by my clients, putting a lot of emphasis on continuous and quality training to be able to offer each of them the best possible solution from my independence that I always emphasize and trust. that they deposit in me in any market circumstance, in good and bad times, always being close to them, because they are ultimately the only assets of a financial advisor. If we add to all this that I enjoy what I do, it makes me feel privileged.
- What are your hobbies?
Among my hobbies there are many and varied, like almost everyone I love cinema, reading, sports, music and, especially, traveling and discovering new places. But what few people know is that dancing is one of my favorite activities and I can practice thanks to the endurance of my wife who is also passionate about it. We are on our way to being bachata experts!
- How do you see the current macroeconomic environment?
We see how the delayed effects of the tightening of monetary policy appear in the economy, causing millimetric recessions on both sides of the Atlantic, with negative data on consumption and economic activity. I agree with the opinion of the Bankinter analysis team, where it is estimated that a progressive recovery will begin in 2024 with decreases in inflation, but that it will remain high until at least 2025 and above the objective of the central banks, which will end with great probability the process of raising interest rates in 2023, but maintaining them at these levels until well into 2024. Therefore, there is no visibility of interest rate cuts given the tough tone shown by the ECB in the last increase in June (+25 bp) and that announced for the July meeting (+25 bp); while on the part of the Fed, with its announcement that it may not have finished raising interest rates (an increase of another +25bp is estimated between July and September), if it begins to lower them we believe it would not do so before the end of 2023.
- How should investors orient their portfolios in the current environment?
In an economic environment with factors such as the contraction of industrial activity, the support of the service sector, a solid labor market, slighter declines in inflation levels and processes with rate hikes coming to an end, we are in a somewhat boring consolidation phase. After a good start to the year, in any case, we estimate that investors, depending on their risk profile, should focus primarily on fixed income for those with a more conservative profile where we find a very attractive risk-return binomial, both in sovereign bonds and the short and middle section of the curve as mainly in high credit quality corporate bonds (Investment Grade with durations of up to 5 years). For those less conservative clients, we find opportunities in equities since we estimate an improvement in business profits that will gain momentum, especially towards 2024, so it is a good time to build a portfolio in both Europe and the United States. The preferences at Bankinter are: technology, luxury, European banks, renewables and infrastructure.
- How is the conservative investor advised in the current context?
After an “annus horribily” in almost all assets during 2022, it was fixed income assets, the most used by conservative investors, that suffered in their portfolios from the vertical rise in interest rates by central banks . This year, with the increase process about to conclude, we found a great opportunity to capture very interesting TIRES in quality fixed income. Therefore, the fundamentals play in favor of bonds and we interpret the IRR spikes (price drops) that still occur as temporary and an investment opportunity. We conclude, therefore, that the central banks’ strategy to stop inflation works and we are pro-bonds.
- Give us an example of a fund that you have held for a long time in portfolios and why.
Thanks to the Bankinter platform, and its open architecture model that allows us to choose between countless funds and managers, there is a small group of funds that I always keep in my portfolios. One of them has always been a flagship of technology investment such as the Fidelity Global Technology Fund. Technology is a complex and dynamic topic that provides a diverse set of opportunities in all sectors and regions. The technology sector benefits from several long-term structural trends, such as the transition to the cloud, digital advertising and e-commerce, big data and the Internet of Things, and future technologies, such as electric cars, intelligent artificial, virtual reality and 3D printing. The fund develops a long-term valuation-sensitive approach that is designed to take advantage of behavioral biases and short-term price anomalies to generate returns in three opportunity sets: growth businesses, cyclical businesses and situations. specials.
- What characteristics do you think a good financial advisor should have?
· Honesty to put the client at the center of the recommendations.
· Empathy with clients, putting ourselves in their shoes.
· Professionalism and dedication to service.
- What differences do you observe in the way new generations invest?
Fundamentally his great interest in the new economy, the digital world and new mega trends. They will have to learn from their mistakes to be able to be good investors and know how to differentiate what is investing from what is speculating.
- If you had to define yourself with one word, what would it be and why?
The RAE defines tenacious as someone who puts a lot of effort and does not give up on something they want to do or achieve, while also being passionate about everything I do.
Source: Rankia – Miguel Ángel Soriano of CapitalSur Advisors – Advisor of the month | RankiaPro