Nomos , an investment advisory firm partnered with XP, has grown in a way that many prefer not to touch: the trader investor. The firm, which today manages over R$10 billion, is trying to translate this DNA into scale in a market that has moved from a race to open accounts to a battle for efficiency, brand, and retention.

The company was born in 2023 from the union of two consultancies — BR, in Rio de Janeiro, and ABS, in São Paulo — which, within XP, had grown targeting the same client profile: the trader. Over time, the competition between them turned into cannibalization of their client base. XP stepped in as a mediator to bring the teams together and orchestrate the merger that gave rise to Nomos.

The partnership with XP came at a time when several firms were discussing becoming brokerages. In the case of Nomos, whose differentiating factor was operating in trading and derivatives, it seemed like a natural path.

“XP thought that our business really made sense to become a brokerage firm because of the transaction volume and revenue streams that independent agents didn't have,” says Rodrigo Imperatriz, CEO of Nomos, to Wealth Point, a NeoFeed program.

The plan was eventually put into action. But the idea lost its purpose with a change that affected the most sensitive part of the movement: the migration of the customer base.

“There was a regulatory change where clients could no longer be automatically enrolled. We would have to contact each client individually, at a time when we had a new brand,” says Imperatriz.

The firm still envisions becoming a brokerage firm at some point, but as a full-fledged broker, not a "light" one. In the short term, the ambition is to double in size within a year and reach 10% of the market share of transactions on the B3 (currently the company has 7%).

Nomos aims for organic growth and acquisitions, further scaling its investment allocation business for high-net-worth individuals without abandoning its core clientele. The thesis is that, in Brazil, trading cannot be treated as mere entertainment. There are investors with this profile, and with the right method, it can be effective.

“We can’t let someone who likes this market be irresponsible, go to a gambling den, go to a betting house,” says Imperatriz. “We believe that this client needs education and we want to be on their side.”