S8 BARRON’S March 16, 2020
AMERICA’S TOP 1200 FINANCIAL ADVISORS 2020
Ghislain Gouraige, managing directorof the Gouraige
Kaplan Ravinet Team at UBS in Coral Gables, Fla.,
launched his wealth management practice at precisely the
worst time. In 2000, just as he was setting up shop, the
technology bubble burst and the stock market collapsed.
“I had prepared a detailed business plan and ap-
proached 10 individuals who assured me that they
would work with me,” says Gouraige, a Harvard Law
School graduate who began his career as a corporate
lawyer. “After the first six months, not one, including my
neighbor, followed through.”
Gouraige, now 60, turned his attention to entrepre-
neurs who had sold their businesses, offering to manage
their fresh capital. He spotted a theme: Many wished
they had scouted for a better deal. So, he and his busi-
ness partner, Jared Kaplan, swooped in to fill what they
identified as an underserved market—and presale plan-
ning soon became their core competency.
Gouraige was born in Haiti and moved to Albany,
N.Y., with his parents when he was 8 years old. His firm
manages $2.6 billion and works with entrepreneurs
with an average net worth of $50 million who have built
midsize businesses in real estate, health care, manufac-
turing, and other industries.
Before the virus-fueled market drops, Gouraige was
paring back equity holdings, citing high valuations, and
adding exposure to bonds and alternatives. In the past
two weeks, he’s been reminding clients that “we are in
this for the long term, and our portfolios were built to
withstand this type of market volatility.”
Within fixed income, municipal bonds serve as core
holdings. Portfolios are diversified across the risk spec-
trum, with high-yield municipal and corporate bonds,
floating-rate bonds, and mortgage-backed securities.
The scope of Gouraige’s work has expanded over the
past two decades. “We have become holistic wealth
planners,” he says. “We want to be the first phone call
for all things financial.”
Beyond investments and traditional financial-
planning services, Gouraige’s advisory role often
extends to life coaching. “Entrepreneurs often have
difficulty seeing life after a sale,” says Gouraige. “We
help them visualize what they will do.”—K.H.
Photograph byALFONSO DURAN
$2.6B $30M $50M
Total Assets Typical Account Typical Net Worth
Coral Gables, Fla. No. 30
GHISLAIN
GOURAIGE
UBS Financial Services