UBS Private Wealth Management on Friday scored a coup with its hire of R. Mitchell Wickham and his 16-person team in Charlotte, N.C. from Merrill Lynch, Wickham Cash Partners, which manages $10.8 billion of client assets and produces $16.7 million in fees and commissions annually.
Like some of its competitors, UBS said a few years ago it would back away from recruiting advisers, which is expensive, and focus on the organic growth of its existing financial advisers. However, it continues to selectively recruit.
Meanwhile, UBS's Americas wealth management business on Tuesday morning reported a drop of $9 billion of new money during the final quarter of 2019; other regions reported an increase of new client money of $4.4 billion. During the corresponding quarter in 2018, the Swiss bank reported a $3.6 billion decrease of net new client money.
UBS's global wealth management is having better success in attracting new clients and money outside the United States, said the bank's chief financial officer, Kit Gardner, in a conference call to discuss earnings. In the Asia - Pacific region, it reported $31 billion of net new money in 2019.
"In the Americas, there were two large outflows which contributed to the negative net new money result, although these were very low margin," Mr. Gardner said. "We remain confident in our ability to generate net new money growth. However, as [CEO Sergio Ermotti] highlighted, we will continue to focus on quality and more specifically on the profitability and resource efficiency of existing invested assets and net flows."
The Swiss bank has been cutting jobs and reorganizing its global wealth management business as it focuses on ultra-wealthy clients. The overarching goal is to trim management and increase resources, such as planning and banking, that its financial advisers can use with clients.
UBS reported 6,549 financial advisers at the end of 2019, a decline of 301, or 4.4%, year over year. Its advisers, however, generate high revenues, and the firm claims they lead the industry in that category. As of the fourth quarter, UBS advisers in the Americas generated, on average, $1.4 million in annual fees and commissions and had on average $214 million in client assets.
The group led by a 37-year industry veteran brings $470 million in assets to the Philadelphia-based broker dealer.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based national wealth firm revealed its new PE partner as prior backers Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC’s Aspire Holdings exited their investments.
The latest departures in Ohio mark another setback for the hybrid RIA, which is looking to "expanding its presence across all models and segments of the wealth management industry.”
The St. Louis-based real estate investment firm gives the asset management giant a valuable access point to the roughly $1 trillion net lease market.
Eliseo Prisno, a former Merrill advisor, allegedly collected unapproved fees from Filipino clients by secretly accessing their accounts at two separate brokerages.
Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
