“At Catalyst, we believe our people are the foundation of our success. They are part of our ‘Circle’, an inclusive and valued group who foster innovation and open up new possibilities for growth and development.”

Benjamin Reid is one of the founding partners for The Catalyst Group. As Co-Managing Partner, he is responsible for the full oversight of the business, the senior management team and its 80+ employees spanning 5 jurisdictions.

More importantly, he leads “The Circle” – A remarkable collection of inspiring and experienced individuals from the financial services sector and beyond.

Background:

Benji began his career at Merrill Lynch, where following the company’s sale to Bank of America (BofA), was subsequently involved with the setup of LatAm desks at RBC and HSBC, two of the world’s biggest financial institutions. During his time in the banking world, he focused on the institutional and ultra-high-net-worth segments, overseeing books of $500M – $1BN.

Prior to founding Catalyst, Benji spent ~8 years with the Maitland Group, where he was responsible for growing the company’s presence in Latin America from a virtually unknown brand to one of the most sought-after fund offshore administration providers. At the time of his exit, the book represented over 80 clients and +$5.5BN in AUA.

Benji also has specialized experience in offshore financial services from working in private banking and fund, corporate and trust administration environments. He loves nothing more than a challenge, particularly when it comes to his clients.

“I have British skin but Portuguese blood.”

Born in South London, Benji moved to Portugal at the age of 4 and lived there until the age of 18 years old.

Educated first at Radley College Oxford and then at the University of Manchester, Benji always had an eye for architecture, culture and languages as was demonstrated by his A-levels and degree in Hispanic Studies and Economics.

In the years between school and university, Benji spent 18 months living in Brazil, where he taught English to underprivileged children in a Favela just outside of Recife. It was during these impactful moments that Benji subsequently decided that he would focus his efforts on working for/in the Latin American region.

Credentials and Achievements:

• Degree: University of Manchester, BA (Hons) in Hispanic Studies.
• Additional Qualifications:
  • Level 6 Certificate in Private Client Investment Advice & Management (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, 2011),
  • Unit 5 Investment Management (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, 2011);
  • Unit 4 Securities & Derivatives (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, 2010)
  • Unit 1 Regulations (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, 2008).

Affiliations:

• AIMA Cayman Executive Board, Chair of the Latin America Working group, Cayman Finance.