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.
The Alternatives Exchange will provide curated UBS and iCapital alternative investment products to the 106,000 advisers on Envestnet’s platform.
While the executive order is designed to promote competition in the economy, the Securities and Exchange Commission will likely need to get involved for it to have a direct impact on the advice sector.
Despite payout rates and branding that suggest higher levels of support, the top brokerage firms are not meeting adviser expectations, according to a recent survey of over 3,000 advisers.
The bank's employees will have the option of working from home at least part time, an executive said, setting it apart from others who are taking a more hard-line approach, like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.
The bank hasn't set a date for returning to the office. Employees can start applying for hybrid work once local pandemic rules allow them to return full-time to the office.
The move marks the third announcement of a billion dollar group moving to one of LPL's channels this month.
The six-adviser team, Puzzle Wealth Solutions, is affiliating with LPL Financial through OSJ Gladstone Wealth Partners.
Driving the recruiting overhaul at wirehouses over the past few years has been the tremendous expense of recruiting experienced financial advisers.
CEO Jane Fraser cites the bank's push to expand its wealth management offerings around the globe, but says Citi will structure compensation so the bank's shareholders will have more power than the wealth managers.
The six-person team is leaving J.P. Morgan Private Bank in San Francisco.
Kathy Matsui, formerly of Goldman Sachs, starts female-run venture fund to support health care, fintech and other young firms.
It seems counterintuitive that an adviser or team who may be riding the wave of their 'best year ever' would change jerseys or break for independence. Yet it’s happening in record numbers.
Over the next three years, the positions are expected to be eliminated in Switzerland alone, with the bulk at the corporate cost center and about 200 between wealth management and the bank’s Swiss unit for personal and corporate banking.
John Farrell and Joel East are joining the UBS branch in Fort Worth, Texas.
Knowlton Knowlton & Larsen will be Rockefeller's first group of advisers in Boston.
