Miami hopes to lure hedge funds out of New York with an updated twist on a familiar message: Come south for warm winters, zero state or city income tax and -- finally -- a downtown worthy of Wall Street鈥檚 elite.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really showing the maturity of our city,鈥欌�� said Nitin Motwani, a Miami developer and board member of the Downtown Development Authority. 鈥淭he more people get familiar with what is happening in Miami 鈥� the real Miami 鈥� the more people are going to say, 鈥業鈥檓 going to give Miami a shot.鈥�
The campaign to woo hedge funds, private equity firms and other money managers by Miami鈥檚 DDA is the latest front in South Florida鈥檚 decades-long effort to move beyond its dependence on tourism, trade and construction to drive the economy.
The familiar trope of a year-round vacation looms large in the DDA鈥檚 message, as does comparing Florida鈥檚 lack of an income tax with the 13 percent levy paid by top-earning Manhattanites. But this campaign also rests on proving Miami鈥檚 bona fides for some of the wealthiest executives in finance. With a new wave of celebrated restaurants, a growing downtown cultural scene and an ongoing embrace of the 鈥渘ew Miami鈥� by national media, the DDA sees an opportunity to make its message stick.
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