Why America’s Playground is Best Home for Relocating Investment Firms
We all know the story – America’s long-time financial centers have gone from being showpieces of capitalism to self-destructive bastions of socialism.
As an investment professional who started my career in the 1980’s, I remember the profound sense of pride I had to work as an analyst in the business heart of San Francisco and Chicago. The hustle & bustle of being near stock, options & commodities exchanges and working in pristine buildings that were the nerve centers of American enterprise & entrepreneurship.
Today’s “Wall Street of the West” in downtown San Francisco & Los Angeles have become financial ghost towns of semi-vacant buildings with the decorative elegance of a bygone era and many of the famed after-work bars & restaurants are shuttered. Riots, graffiti & wandering street people are reminders of today’s self-imposed decay in the once Golden State.
According to Morningstar®, there are 3,245 mutual funds, 764 exchange traded funds and 1,164 separate account managers that still list California as their headquarters. Many are managed by global giants in financial services – iShares, Franklin Templeton, Pimco, and American Funds. I am sure many of their senior executives are doing serious “soul searching” that has led many other financial firms to flee blue states for the financial freedom of Tennessee, Texas or Florida.
Why not Las Vegas, Nevada?
As President & CIO of the only Morningstar® five star & gold medal rated investment management firm headquartered in Las Vegas, I have heard all the jokes about summer heat, mobsters & rattlesnakes. In reality, Las Vegas (LV) is a lot more than “The Strip” and makes more sense than other locations for California based financial firms to relocate their headquarters:
- Ideal Location, LV is close to the major metropolitan areas of the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sand Diego and Phoenix. It’s in the Pacific Time Zone and easily accessible by plane, automobile and soon a Brightline high speed rail to Southern California. Simply put, a relocation to LV doesn’t require the lifestyle & professional adjustments of other distant locations. As a Nevada resident, you can conveniently spend up to 5 months a year in CA on business or pleasure and usually not subjected to its high state income tax.
- Calm Weather & Disaster Proof, located in the high desert, it rarely gets snow & ice storms, so winter travel is rarely delayed. While it does get hot in the summer, LV doesn’t have the humidity and insect issues of the Southern states. More importantly – fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornados are non-existent making property casualty insurance affordable and less concerns about business continuity in disaster planning.
- Modern Infrastructure, anyone driving across the California/Nevada border will immediately notice the modern Nevada road system (and lower gas prices). The Harry Reid International Airport is widely regarded as one of the best in the US with non-stop flights to most major cities. Las Vegas has always been a city of intelligent expansion yet realistic about using its resources. In fact, LV recycles 96% of its water and has avoided the pitfalls of other western cities who waste this precious resource.
The new commercial centers and residential developments are uniquely beautiful and incorporate practical use of solar power, 5G wireless and even AI. Thanks to the casino industry, security is state of the art and perfect for financial centers!
- Business Friendly Environment, Las Vegas represents American capitalism at its finest with no state tax on personal income & capital gains and wealth generation through business endeavors is encouraged. Nevada gets a lot of attention as an important swing state in national elections, and the state political structure is balanced with reasonable business regulation. The result is a healthy, expanding economy with both Nevada and LV having S&P municipal bond ratings of AA+.
- Professional Education & Effective Business Associations, I am active with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, CFA Society of Nevada, and the UNLV Lee Business School. In comparison with my experiences with CA business & academic groups, these organizations match or exceed in effectiveness. For example, The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce offers an annual event called, “DC Fly-In”. Up to 300 of our members go to Washington DC for constructive meetings with politicians and bureaucrats regarding Las Vegas commerce.
Another example is the UNLV finance department creating an elective course for its students, pursuing careers in financial services, to be SEC licensed (Series 65 or 66) upon graduation. An important ingredient for expanding the local financial service workforce in sales, operations, or compliance.
“UNLV is fully committed to a financial ecosystem that transforms Las Vegas into a financial center. Enrollment in the Finance Department grew by more than 150% in past three years.” Dr. Daniel Chi, Chair of Department of Finance UNLV
- Strong Work Ethic & Lower Employment Cost, People who live in desert cities are a tough mix of blue and white collar with a strong sense of pride in their work. Unlike other metropolitan areas where professional talks usually gravitate towards “WHERE did you go to college?”, the tone in LV business conversations are “DID you go to college?”, and “DID you serve in the military?”
Also, operating & labor costs are noticeably lower in LV. For example, unlike California that has a Cal-OSHA withholding for W2 employees, Nevada has no such requirement (not to mention no state or local tax withholdings for employees).
“As a military veteran, the spouse of another veteran, and the father of four young children, being a resident of Las Vegas has been one of the most important (and successful) decisions my wife and I have ever made for our family. Both being originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, the burden of stress of living in that difficult environment was lifted from us once we were introduced to everyday family-life in Las Vegas….Flexible housing costs options, relatively non-existent traffic (in comparison to other major metro regions), and massive business-ownership benefits make life in Las Vegas a huge option for anyone to consider.”, Lester Lumbad, President, Southern Nevada Veterans Chamber of Commerce.
- A Strong Community, Nevada is a “Great Basin” state like Arizona, Utah & Idaho and still has the cowboy culture of the Old West in many respects. However, two events changed LV in profound ways – Mandalay Bay shooting in 2017 and its response to Covid.
Today’s Vegas is a distinctly proud, independent community and not afraid to blaze its own path. It’s decision return to normalcy during Covid earlier than most cities is a key reason Vegas is thriving with modern, clean, safe, family-oriented & affordable neighborhoods. There are large numbers of veterans and people who attend churches & temples within the LV community. Simply put, the social and political issues plaguing cities in California are usually not found in this multicultural community where veterans & public safety officers display special license plates and civic pride is welcomed – a law abiding, nonjudgemental, live & let live culture.
“I have worked in investment management for six years. I relocated from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in early 2025 with my husband and three kids. Financially, it was the best decision for my family. The school system is great, the schools are newer, and I love how strict they are with the kids. Overall, my family has adjusted to Las Vegas well, even with the heat during the summer.” Brittany Jerez, VP of Operations, Winans Investments.
- Entertainment Capital of the World – One unexpectant surprise in moving Winans Investments to Vegas is that many clients and prospects now combine business & pleasure trips here. I see them in-person more now than when I lived in the Sonoma wine country. In fact, some of my largest clients are seriously considering a move out of CA with Vegas being of consideration.
Las Vegas truly reminds me of the “work hard & play hard” entrepreneurial atmosphere I had early in my career in San Francisco and Chicago! In fact, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce regularly throws happy hours and social networking events around LV.
“Las Vegas is one of the best places in the world to live and do business. Nevada is among the most business-friendly states you’ll find, and here community truly matters… You have world-class dining just down the street, the best entertainment imaginable, and endless outdoor adventures only minutes away. Want to be on the water? Lake Mead is 45 minutes away. Skiing in the winter? Also 45 minutes away. Hiking? Gorgeous trails surround the city. Craving the ocean? The beach is only a three-and-a-half-hour drive. Here, we truly have it all.” Ricky Navar, Co-founder/President, Peak Performance Partners.
I know moving a business & household is difficult. It was especially hard for me as a 5th generation Californian whose family arrived in the mid 1800’s. I simply had enough of working against a socialist controlled state and a growing atmosphere of disdain for business in general.
“Hope springs eternal” but nothing is going to change in CA! I recently attended a webinar where the California Budget & Policy Center discussed the state’s current fiscal issues. On more than one instance, slides decrying “Tax Cuts for the Wealthy & Corporations” in reference to the One Big Beautiful Bill were shown. Sadly, no reference was made to the unfair tax system where CA’s wealthiest 1% of citizens pay 46% of all state taxes.
To be blunt, CA’s politicians & bureaucrats don’t give a second thought about the health of the state’s financial service “golden goose”. Clearly, they learned nothing when Charles Schwab moved its global headquarters from San Francisco to Dallas in 2021. They simply want our industry to be “beasts of burden” by paying high taxes on our well-earned financial success and wasting our time on hours of state mandated employment training involving DEI issues without voicing concerns or complaints.
Your relocation will be a “Win, Win”!
- Las Vegas leadership wants to diversify its economic base with low impact, high pay professional service companies such as investment management, private equity & REITs, commodity & crypto exchanges, wealth management & financial planning. Nevada even offers financial incentives for businesses to move here.
- Financial service firms get the capitalist red-carpet treatment, no state taxes and a world class commercial center conveniently close to CA. Not to mention, an immediate solution to the industry’s management fee compression issues by reducing operating costs and increasing after-tax profits.
Trust me – your clients, employees and bank account will be thankful in the end as you enjoy professional & personal life as a Nevadan and help in creating the new Wall Street of the West!