DALLAS — Victor Quiroga Jr. is opening a San Antonio office for the advisory firm Specialized Public Finance Inc. as managing director.
Quiroga, a former senior vice president for Frost Bank, has more than 18 years of experience as a financial advisor and investment banker to Texas municipalities including school districts, colleges, cities and special utility districts.
“SPFI is a small firm with a big footprint in Texas, and it consistently ranks as the top independent firm,” Quiroga said. “The opportunity to start an office in San Antonio made sense to me professionally at this point in my career, and it adds to SPFI’s South Texas footprint.”
SPFI was founded in Dallas in 2008 by seven former First Southwest Co. advisors who designed the firm to be independent from any broker-dealer and to serve mid-size clients.
“Victorʼs reputation precedes him, and the ability to add another experienced municipal advisor gives us even greater depth as a firm,” said Garry Kimball, co-founder and president of SPFI.
Quiroga said that SPFI’s independence was one aspect of the firm that attracted him.
“I think it provides an additional level of trust to FA clients that our market advice isn’t based on any underwriting position we may have taken in the market that day,” Quiroga told The Bond Buyer. “Independent doesn’t mean that we have an opposing view from broker-dealers. Instead, it means that we can use the advice and expertise of a broad range of underwriting firms to provide the best service to our FA clients.”
Quiroga’s move comes after one of the toughest years in the municipal bond industry in recent memory and a regulatory environment that has prompted consolidation among financial advisors and broker-dealers.
“As some of the larger firms consolidate or leave the business, being independent lessens our exposure to market events that can hurt the bottom line at broker-dealer firms,” Quiroga said. “I think the trend will continue toward independent FA firms as the regulatory framework continues to emphasize the importance of the FA’s fiduciary duty to their clients.”
A graduate of the University of Chicago, Quiroga is a member of Leadership North East ISD, past board member and treasurer of the Autism Community Network and a past board member of the Girl Scouts of the San Antonio Area.
Quiroga’s executive assistant Rachel Reyes also joins SPFI after working at Frost Bank.
No clients have been announced for the new San Antonio office, but Quiroga said “ours is a relationship business, so I hope to retain many of them. And I hope there will be opportunities for my FA clients to still work with Frost for underwriting, banking and investment services.”
