Rake was later recruited by Sanctuary Wealth, a U.S. platform for investment advisors, to grow its middle-market business in the region. Rey began collaborating with him on specific client accounts, which eventually inspired the two to launch Diagonal Investments. The firm was built upon a strategic alliance with Sanctuary, which provides the necessary international infrastructure.
In Rey’s words, creating this financial boutique—which operates on a fee-on-AUM (assets under management) model—was a response to a “major opportunity to offer an independent advisory service, featuring portfolios more closely aligned with clients’ actual needs and long-term investment opportunities.”
Peru and the Rest of the Neighborhood
Given that both founders are from Peru, Lima has served as the central hub for building the business. “Today it is our most important market, both in terms of client numbers and assets under advisory,” Rey explains, describing it as “a very interesting market” due to the growth opportunities it presents.
Although the country possesses significant wealth and potential, political instability over the last decade has caused hesitation among both local and international investors.
“This has translated into a two-way dynamic: on one hand, many high-net-worth families have moved money out of the country; on the other, little foreign capital has entered due to a lack of visibility into long-term policies,” he notes. Looking ahead, Rey sees potential tailwinds if a climate of greater stability and growth consolidates under the presidency of Keiko Fujimori.
“If that confidence is restored, business owners may stop withdrawing dividends and start reinvesting locally, which would somewhat reduce the outflow toward offshore wealth management,” he indicates.
Beyond Peru, Diagonal serves clients in Ecuador, Mexico, and Miami, where the firm also maintains an office. The co-founder notes that these regions represent the greatest potential for growth and are key targets for expanding their footprint. However, the executive stresses that any future expansion is contingent upon finding the right personnel.
“We are always open to meeting expert professionals with a local presence in each of the region’s countries, as that represents a real growth opportunity for us,” Rey says.
Backed by Sanctuary
Given Diagonal’s robust offshore capabilities, its partnership with Sanctuary Wealth is fundamental to its operations.
“We maintain a very close relationship, focused on ensuring client service is top-notch and operates as smoothly as possible,” the co-founder highlights, noting that the U.S. firm oversees more than $60 billion in assets. “That proximity has allowed us to jointly develop tools that give us significant differentiation compared to regional competitors today,” he adds.
Beyond utilizing Sanctuary Wealth’s infrastructure and network of custodian banks in the United States—including its compliance and broker-dealer teams—all advisory contracts are signed in the U.S. under American regulatory standards. The U.S. firm also provides a dedicated investment strategy team, led by veteran Wall Street strategist Mary Ann Bartels. Their research and analysis serve as the foundation for the portfolios managed by Diagonal’s advisors.
These portfolios are built using model structures that are then customized to address the specific needs of each family’s wealth. To accomplish this, advisors combine the strategy provided by Bartels’ team with insights from the Peruvian firm’s monthly investment committee meetings, which adapt the U.S.-based recommendations. “Our clients’ portfolios end up looking quite similar to one another, even if each has unique details. The recommendation for all our clients comes from that same process, because we want the experience to be consistent for everyone,” Rey concludes, clarifying that they do not perform discretionary portfolio management.
