UBS plans to open expanded financial adviser office in New York

UBS AG will open a new wealth management office in New York and boost staff as the biggest Swiss bank seeks to expand its market share among individual investors in the largest U.S. cities, according to a memo sent to employees today. The office at 101 Park Ave. in Manhattan will open in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the memo, which was confirmed by Allison Chin-Leong, a spokeswoman for the Zurich- based lender. UBS competes with full-service brokerage firms such as Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the two largest U.S. brokers. UBS Wealth Management, at the end of the second quarter, had 6,760 reps in the Americas, the lowest financial adviser headcount among the four largest wirehouses at the time. (Click here to view chart.) Despite the lower headcount, however, UBS advisers had boasted the most average assets per client relationship ($97M) among its peers.