Office address: 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
Website: ubs.com/us
Year established: 1862
Company type: financial services
Employees: 110,300+
Expertise: wealth management, investment banking, asset management, retirement planning, alternative investments, sustainable investing, corporate solutions, financial planning, risk management, capital markets
Parent company: UBS Group AG (Switzerland)
Key people: Sergio Ermotti (group CEO); Robert Karofsky, George Athanasopoulos, and Marco Valla (co-presidents); Aleksandar Ivanovic (president); Mike Dargan (group chief operations and technology officer); Todd Tuckner (group CFO)
Financing status: corporation
UBS is a leading global bank that specializes in serving high-net-worth clients and institutions. The company manages $6.6 trillion in invested assets and offers tailored financial advice and solutions to individuals, families, and institutions. Its US operations are headquartered in New York.
UBS traces its beginnings to 1862 in Switzerland, when Bank in Winterthur was created to help local business and manage a warehouse. Fifty years later, a merger with Toggenburger Bank formed Union Bank of Switzerland, which quickly grew its network and services across the country.
Swiss Bank Corporation, known as SBC, formed from several mergers in the late 1800s and soon set its sights beyond Switzerland. By 1898, SBC had opened a branch in London, showing its global ambitions.
Both Union Bank of Switzerland and SBC embraced new technology, such as adding machines and early computers. They also opened offices in major financial centers like New York, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro.
A turning point came in 1998, when Union Bank of Switzerland and SBC joined forces to create UBS. This merger brought together expertise in various areas which made UBS one of the world’s largest financial institutions.
In 2000, the company entered the US market in a big way by acquiring PaineWebber, an American brokerage and asset manager. This gave the firm a strong presence in New York and across the country.
The company continued to grow, even through financial crises, and expanded its digital banking services worldwide. In 2023, it acquired Credit Suisse which strengthened its role as Switzerland’s largest universal bank.
By 2025, UBS increased checks on client money sources in Asia after a money-laundering scandal. The firm worked with Deloitte and KPMG and closed thousands of smaller accounts.
The firm combines deep market knowledge with access to both traditional and alternative investments. UBS's investment offerings include:
UBS is also known for its strong digital platforms and global network. Clients benefit from disciplined risk management and a wide selection of investment choices.
UBS states that its culture is the foundation for how the company works and adapts to change. The firm’s “three keys” represent the main values and guide daily actions:
UBS aims to create a supportive and flexible work environment for all employees. According to the company, its benefits are designed to help staff balance work and personal life:
UBS also offers regional programs to help employees manage work and family commitments. The company reports that it provides benefits that often go beyond legal requirements.
Sergio P. Ermotti serves as group CEO of UBS Group AG and has been leading the executive board since 2023. Before this, Ermotti led the company from 2011 to 2020 and served as chair at Swiss Re. He also held senior roles at UniCredit Group and Merrill Lynch. He completed advanced management training at the University of Oxford.
The UBS Group Executive Board leads the company’s global operations and oversees key business areas:
UBS Group AG uses a dual board structure as required by Swiss law. The board of directors delegates business management to the executive board.
In 2025, UBS experts shared practical strategies for family wealth conversations, focusing on values, legacy, and open communication. Judy Spalthoff and Libby Stantial explained how purposeful dialogue and programs like Emerging Successors help families prepare future inheritors. Their advice supports clients in building trust and guiding responsible wealth transitions across generations.
UBS leaders like Adrian Zuercher have also highlighted how new clients, especially younger generations and women, are driving demand for ESG and sustainable solutions. The company sees this shift as a sign that stewardship and responsible investing will play a bigger role in its future, as clients look for more return drivers and long-term value.
On Thursday, the asset manager's shares had plunged as much as 14.2% on the news that Germany’s financial markets regulator, BaFin, and U.S. prosecutors were probing claims by a former sustainability executive that DWS overstated the amount of assets adhering to social and environmental criteria.
More than half the climate-themed funds reviewed by a nonprofit failed to live up to the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement, while just over 70% of funds promising ESG goals fell short.
For decades, the prevailing wisdom among recruiters and industry executives has been that wirehouse advisers are far less likely to move to independent broker-dealers than other advisers.
The Retirement Plan Exchange, which uses TAG Resources, is designed to reduce administrative headaches related to providing a plan.
The acquisition of NN Investment Partners boosts the bank's European ties and gives it a toehold in the sustainable investing industry; about three-quarters of NN's investments are backed by ESG criteria.
The discount brokerage posts short video clips on the social media app ranging from how-to guides for using the Fidelity Spire app to explainers of financial terminology.
A mother-daughter team led by Cynthia Hansen joins RBC's Denver Tech office.
The company maintained its healthy recruiting pace over the first two quarters of the year even as losses continued to mount among its wirehouse competitors.
The leading TAMP by assets is racking up the number of advisers on its platform and new accounts are opening at a faster pace than prior quarters, said CEO Bill Crager in an earnings call.
Assets serviced by iCapital have exploded to $80 billion across more than 780 funds to date, up from $46 billion in March 2020.
Rock-bottom interest rates have fueled the biggest borrowing binge on record, and even billionaires with enough cash to fill a swimming pool are loathe to sit it out.
The financial technology platform, which provides financial advisers with access to alternative investments, saw its valuation top $800 million with the funding round led by WestCap.
UBS in the Americas appears to be focusing on recruiting giant teams of private banking advisers as it continues to see experienced advisers walk to competitors.
The wealth management business saw $25 billion of inflows of net new fee-generating assets across all regions and also made $7 billion in net new loans to rich clients in the quarter.
Investments pegged to market volatility remained in client accounts for up to a year when they were meant to be short-term investments.
