Florida Attracting Top Hedge Funds from New York

Florida is becoming an increasingly attractive destination to our neighbors up north. For the past few years, we have witnessed Wall Street’s steady colonization of Florida due to favorable tax policies. But the pandemic has accelerated this shift and solidified Miami’s standing as financial powerhouse; and more and more hedge funds are starting to take note. According to a February 2021 article from the Wall Street Journal, not only are more and more hedge funds moving their headquarters from New York City to South Florida, but they are also unloading their apartments in favor of Florida residential real estate.

As a Palm Beach investor noted to the Financial Times in February 2021, “The move by the industry had already started,” says one Palm Beach investor. “Covid and the confinement has just compressed five years into one.”

Hedge funds and top tier investors moving to Florida include hedge fund Elliott Management, billionaire investor and activist Carl Icahn, private-equity executive and co-founder of Tiger Management Scott Shleifer, New Jersey hedge fund executive David Tepper, Citadel founder Ken Griffin, and so many others. These titans have gone on acquisition sprees in both the commercial and residential real estate markets.

With the expansion and or relocation of many hedge fund businesses, we are poised to see additional jobs and trades move to the South Florida area. This might include lawyers of various trades, trading IT coders, and even restauranteurs and others chasing the opportunities that could arise given this new clientele.

With this influx, we can only expect South Florida to become more of a cultural hub than ever before.