Avenue obtains a license from the Central Bank and becomes an investment bank.

Avenue received its investment banking license from the Central Bank of Brazil. On Christmas Eve, the offshore platform consolidated the most important step in its regulatory expansion strategy.

The authorization will allow Avenue to expand its offering of financial services, including more independent foreign exchange operations and new cross-border financing products, something that is already in demand from clients. The idea, for example, is to improve operational capacity in foreign exchange, using its own balance sheet in a more independent way.

"This license is part of a larger infrastructure investment plan," Roberto Lee, founder and CEO of Avenue, told NeoFeed . "We are projecting that over the next few years, the next few decades, so much Brazilian capital will flow abroad that we need to invest heavily in a much larger infrastructure arrangement than anyone has today."

The investment bank is not just a business unit , but an important part of the existing business infrastructure – therefore, it will fall under the umbrella of partner and COO Alexandre Artmann. Instead of scaling with lighter regulatory structures, Avenue sought more oversight, more regulatory capital, and more governance as the foundation for the next phase of growth.

According to Lee, growing while reducing regulatory requirements would lead to a "race to the bottom," unable to sustain a category that is beginning to move increasingly significant volumes. "When you're dealing with family wealth, you can't operate with a startup mentality with low regulation," says the CEO.

For this reason, the investment banking license represents the pinnacle of regulatory oversight and transparency in Brazil for a company that projects a " Brazilian asset diaspora " amounting to R$ 1 trillion in the medium term.

According to Avenue, the use of the international financial system by Brazilians is expanding at the same rate as the breaking down of job and language barriers, two movements that require income and assets abroad.

Young Brazilians, for example, study abroad, work remotely for foreign companies, and receive payments in other currencies. For this group, the line is thin between "investing abroad" in stocks and bonds and "operating financially abroad." "It's no longer just about returns. It's about being integrated into the world," says Lee.

This strategy of regulatory robustness is not limited to Brazil. Avenue must move forward to obtain new licenses in the United States, focusing especially on custody and clearing of assets. "Over time, we should move towards being self-clearing . It's a project that's already underway here, that we manage daily, but that takes years to get off the ground," says Lee.

The pursuit of greater operational independence in the US aims to ensure more control over the safekeeping of clients' assets and reduce dependence on third parties in critical operations. In February 2026, Avenue will launch its institutional vertical to serve Brazilian companies, asset managers, and wealth managers operating in the United States.

The expectation is that the new operation will progress with the approximately 250 partner asset managers with whom the firm already has relationships and who operate internationally. The addressable market is expected to generate around US$100 million in annual revenue.

Flow of resources abroad

Over the past eight years, Avenue has observed a pattern whenever the scenario becomes more uncertain, whether due to elections, fiscal doubts, or deteriorating expectations: the flow of resources abroad accelerates.

It's like a cycle. In times of greater predictability, the pace slows down. In periods of uncertainty, the investor anticipates decisions. "It's not that the trajectory changes. It already exists. What changes is the speed," says Lee.

For 2026, a year that will be marked by presidential elections in Brazil, the expectation is precisely for an environment that favors the acceleration of the internationalization of Brazilian assets. "It's an election year, so it's an uncertain scenario by nature," he says.

Avenue, now controlled by Itaú Unibanco after the bank exercised its purchase option in early December 2025 and increased its stake to 50.1%, ended last year closer to the R$ 50 billion mark under custody – a figure the company does not confirm.

When the deal with Itaú was finalized in 2022, the platform held approximately R$ 5 billion under custody. Now, even without any operational changes in day-to-day operations, the change of controlling shareholder is being evaluated by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade).

"Besides giving us a boost in terms of size and credibility, Itaú transfers a lot of governance to us, which is essential and fundamental. There are things that take 100 years to learn," says Lee.

Avenue will maintain independent management and continue serving its various distribution channels. Itaú is the platform's largest distributor, but the direct B2C operation and the B2B channel, which includes investment consultancies, asset managers, and family offices, remain active.