The family office for one of Brazil’s largest fortunes has hired former Morgan Stanley currency trader Thiago Melzer, say people familiar with the matter.
Brasil Warrant, which manages money for the Moreira Salles family, hired Melzer in New York, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing personnel moves. The family has a fortune of more than $27 billion spread across four brothers, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Melzer, who helped oversee foreign-exchange options at the Wall Street bank until 2021, was most recently with Upon Global Capital, a fund that he helped build and ultimately shut down last year during a broader downturn in the Brazilian hedge fund industry.
Brasil Warrant declined to comment. Melzer didn’t respond to requests seeking comment.
Melzer left Morgan Stanley about three years ago after a contentious internal investigation into suspected mismarking of transactions. He later challenged the bank’s conclusions, and the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority eventually ruled in his favor.
The Moreira Salles family is behind banking giant Itau Unibanco Holding SA and also owns interests in firms ranging from the power company Eneva SA to niobium producer Cia. Brasileira de Metalurgia & Mineracao. Brasil Warrant began in its current form in 2008 and now employs dozens of people in Sao Paulo and New York trading stocks, bonds, private equity, commodities and currencies around the world.