Mexico Lacks Investment Advisors; GBM Pushes Open Models

Mexico’s financial advisory industry only has 10,000 certified advisors for 77 million adults included in the financial system, according to Confusef. GBM aims to address the country’s shortage of certified investment advisors and promote open-architecture, client-first practices.

Speaking at the lead-up to Pioneros 2025, GBM executives highlighted the gap between Mexico’s 10,000 certified advisors and the more than 70,000 in Brazil or 350,000 in the United States. “For a country of 100 million adults, this is completely insufficient,” Luis Felipe Gómez, Director, GBM Advisors. “Advisory should be as common as seeing a nutritionist or an insurance agent.”

Now in its third official edition, Pioneros is the largest event in Mexico dedicated exclusively to investment advisors, attracting more than 700 industry professionals. The 2025 program is structured around three pillars:

• Market trends: Providing advisors with updated insights to better serve clients.

• Practice development: Offering tools to enhance client engagement and build independent practices.

• Entrepreneurship: Encouraging advisors to break away from captive distribution models and operate with open-architecture solutions.

GBM noted that its commitment to open architecture ensures advisors can recommend the best solutions for clients, regardless of whether they come from GBM. Partnerships with insurance firms like AXA and Prudential are part of a broader push to enable holistic financial planning that goes beyond investment products.

The event will also address the impact of artificial intelligence on advisory services, both in investment opportunities and in enhancing advisors’ own operations. Sessions will cover the use of model portfolios, global and local market perspectives from institutions such as Invesco, JPMorgan, and Santander Asset Management, and lessons from more mature advisory markets like Brazil.

One of the event’s cornerstone discussions will be led by S&P Global, presenting findings from its SPIVA report, which compares active and passive fund performance. According to Manuel González, Senior Director of Client Coverage, S&P Dow Jones Indices, while active managers in Mexico outperformed passive strategies in 2024 on a one-year basis, long-term data tells a different story.

“When we look at three-, five-, and ten-year periods, the percentage of active managers outperforming passive benchmarks declines sharply, often to zero,” González said. “Passive strategies, such as ETFs, consistently deliver strong results over time, with lower costs and clear methodologies.”

These insights, González noted, are crucial for advisors building portfolios aligned with clients’ long-term goals. The data reinforces the role of the advisor as a professional who can integrate evidence-based investment products into comprehensive financial plans.

GBM frames financial advisory as a high-potential career path in Mexico, combining client impact with entrepreneurial opportunity. “We are pioneers in democratizing investment access and in professionalizing financial advice in the country,” the company stated. With 170 affiliated advisors, relationships with 65% of Mexico’s independent investment advisors, and presence in over 25 states, GBM sees Pioneros as a catalyst for scaling its advisory model nationwide.