UBS hired two high-ranking Wells Fargo investment bankers in the U.S. for a newly-created unit for big investors like sovereign wealth funds, major family offices, and pension funds.
The Swiss bank is hiring two Wells Fargo bankers – Grant Thompson and Sandra Godard – as managing directors, according to a memo from Sam Kendall seen by finews.com. They will form a new alternative capital solutions team for big-ticket investors.
The move represents an aggressive push into the U.S. under Kendall, a 20-year veteran of UBS including in Asia who took over the U.S. unit in May. The bid, orchestrated by Andrea Orcel, the former investment bank head who left for the top spot at Santander in September, represents UBS' most aggressive hiring in the U.S. since the financial crisis.
A UBS spokeswoman confirmed the contents of Kendall's comments, which were first reported by «Financial News», to finews.com.
Growing Competition
Thompson will lead the team, which will focus on sovereign wealth funds, large family offices, and global pension funds. At Wells Fargo, he held a similar role. Godard, who will be based in Toronto, will focus on Canadian pension funds. The two are expected to work closely with Susan Elolampi, a former J.P. Morgan banker with strong ties to family offices.
U.S. head Kendall said that the big investors are growing more competitive against traditional financial sponsors, meaning they command more attention. «We believe increased focus and organization around these investors represents a significant growth area for our franchise that is aligned with our advisory-focused model,» he said.
The alternative capital team will also sponsor with counterparts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as Asia-Pacific, where coverage of sovereign wealth funds is more established. The merger of UBS' private bank earlier this year offers another opportunity to «deliver the full firm» to clients, UBS said.
