UBS taps Refinitiv data for adviser workstation

As digital adoption among advisers continues to accelerate during the pandemic, UBS is the latest wirehouse to address the industry’s technology needs with investments to modernize its adviser dashboard. 

UBS announced Friday a partnership with Refinitiv Workspace to give UBS advisers in the U.S. access to Refintiv’s financial data, news and content. The partnership builds out on the $3.5 billion the wirehouse spends annually on technology investments, according to UBS Americas’ head of technology Bobby Anselmo. 

Currently piloted with 100 UBS advisers, Refintiv and UBS are training advisers on how to access the new data in small groups throughout the end of the year. By January 2021, all 6,353 UBS advisers in the U.S. will have access to Refintiv Workspace data.

Advisers can access ESG-investing content, foreign exchange and fixed income pricing, and guides and ETF and mutual fund guides, according to Chris Sparke, global head of advisory solutions at Refinitiv. 

The partnership is also a part of UBS’ broader business strategy to continuously add enhancements to its adviser workstation as digital adoption among clients skyrockets this year, according to Jeanne Andreana, Americas head of digital strategy and platforms at UBS Global Wealth Management. 

In the first half of the year, the firm reached over 180,000 through online events like webinars and podcasts, Andreana said, mostly due to the pandemic. In March, for example, web logins were up 25% compared with the beginning of the year and for digital meetings, internally, jumped 40 times higher, topping 40,000 Skype meetings, she said.

UBS started rebuilding its adviser workstation “from the ground up” after announcing a partnership with fintech Broadridge Financial Services in 2018, Andreana said. “Adding Refinitiv is a big piece of that because market data is a critical component to what financial advisers need.” 

Other enhancements UBS is focusing on include changing how it bills advisory assets to go to average daily pricing and rolling out new navigation functions on the workstation, Andreana said. “It’s the first steps of a more modern workstation that we’ve reimagined," she said.  

UBS’ focus on its adviser workstation follows fellow wirehouse Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, which unveiled its revamped internal workstation, Client Engagement Workstation, in June for more than 22,000 financial advisers and client associates in an effort to continue to scale up its wealth management business.