For example, the Swiss bank will launch a U.S. capital markets team for the super-rich push under investment banker Reinhardt Olsen in the third quarter. UBS is getting more specific with America's ultra-wealthy: instead of lumping everyone with $10 million and more into one group, UBS launched a family office solutions team of roughly two dozen people, aiming for $100 million-and-up clients.
Sergio Who?
However, fusing a gung-ho U.S. culture brokerage culture with the more genteel old-world approach honed in Switzerland has proven one of UBS’ biggest challenges. The U.S., a far leaner operation which is very transaction-focused, has emerged as the heavyweight from the merger – by assets, by people, and by leadership.
The U.S. brokerage has always marched with little interference from Zurich: When a close adviser to UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti was walked through the Swiss bank’s Manhattan offices, one senior wealth executive responded to their introduction by asking simply, «Sergio who?». The two-year-old episode conveys the minor role the Swiss headquarter plays in the New York-based brokerage's goings-on.
Heavyweight vs Novice
Naratil dominates the co-head structure leading the wealth unit: a 36-year veteran of UBS and Paine Webber, he knows the Swiss bank inside and out. Blessing, with a background largely in corporate banking and in Germany who joined less than three years ago, is a wealth management novice in comparison.
A key pillar of the duo’s strategy is to better target the ultra-rich. Stadler, the former investment banker who emerged as a major winner from the merger, had to fight bitterly to carve out the ultra-high net worth unit, as finews.com reported last year.
Huge Potential
Eighteen months on, he hasn’t yet been able to tap into the U.S. market’s huge potential, one person familiar with the matter said. North America is home to 750 billionaires who control $3.1 trillion – and growing, according to a study last month by data firm Wealth-X.
In the U.S., the Swiss bank hasn’t yet built up the more sophisticated products and services needed to attract America’s ultra-rich.
U.S. Banker-Driven
The Americas has also taken a weighty role in unit management: high-profile American banker Paula Polito nabbed the global role for UBS’ client strategy. Several people question whether Polito, who spent the entirety of her career in the U.S., is the right person to parse strategy for, say, ultra-wealthy Asians or Middle East clans.
A person familiar with Polito's team says she has drawn expertise from Asia, Europe, and elsewhere in order to reflect markets outside the U.S.
