Smartwealth was UBS' pride – the Rolls Royce of robo advisers. Now, the Swiss bank has pulled out of efforts to digitize with the wealthy.
UBS is ending its digital offering for British wealth management clients, Smartwealth, after just 18 months, according to a memo seen by finews.com.
«While we were satisfied with the commercial progress, at this time we believe the near-term potential is limited and have therefore decided to close our digital-only offering in the U.K.,» Eva Lindholm, private bank head in the U.K., and Reto Wangler, operating chief of the wider wealth unit, wrote in a memo to staff.
Commercially Viable?
The Swiss bank will sell Smartwealth's intellectual property to San Francisco-based Sigfig, which UBS had developed another U.S.-based digital tool together with. The bank also holds a stake in the American fintech firm.
«We believe the decision serves the best interests of the business and will allow us to invest further in other client-facing improvements», Lindholm and Wangler said. The bank has never disclosed Smartwealth's assets under management.
UBS' argument that it reached commercial success with Smartwealth can be questioned: former private bank head Juerg Zeltner last year admitted that while Smartwealth's offering was good and UBS was happy with the effort, the bank needed to reach customers better. A good portion of the start-up's clients are apparently UBS staffers in Britain.
