As UBS prepares next year to open a bank in the United States that is focused on high-touch services to its 5,644 financial advisors, it intends to use an approach that rewards advisors for selling banking products, an activity many advisors dislike because it eats into time for selling and advising revenue-generating investments.
Regulators this year approved UBS Bank USA’s conversion to a nationally chartered bank; the goal is to focus on white-glove services for wealthy clients and their financial advisors.
UBS intends to have the new offer up and running sometime in the middle of next year.
“The advisors are going to have a bank run by [UBS] wealth for wealth, which means the advisors are going to be very central to that relationship,” said a source familiar with the matter this week. “They are going to get paid very handsomely for banking activity.”
“At most firms, banking is largely non-compensable to advisors,” the source said.
UBS “expects that advisors will find it a good economic proposition for them,” according to the source. “A lot of the advisors are excited about this opportunity.”
A UBS spokesperson declined to comment when asked about details in any compensation plan for advisors and the new bank.
The large wirehouses like UBS typically introduce pay plans – known as “grids” – in the industry during the fall to prepare advisors for changes in the coming year.
It was not clear what banking products – credit cards or mortgages, for example – will be the focus of UBS’ more attractive pay.
But a UBS bank for advisors’ clients does potentially shut down attempts for rival bankers, such as those at JPMorgan Chase, to approach clients with a pitch to consolidate investment accounts where they already do most of their banking.
Advisors typically dislike selling banking products like credit cards or mortgages; they want to focus on investing and financial planning, activities that create revenue from clients.
“If I were starting a bank from scratch, I would heavily incentivize financial advisors to bring in client deposits and also for increasing credit lines and credit cards,” said Lou Diamond, an industry recruiter. “The bank may be new, but UBS is already getting revenue from margin lending or securities-backed loans.”
UBS wealth management in the Americas last month reported a decline in its overall team of financial advisors, today reporting a decline of 2.2% – 129 financial advisors over the past year.
It’s been a slow, steady drip of financial advisor attrition at UBS in the United States for several years.
A change in some financial advisors’ compensation – announced at the end of 2024 and retracted less than a year later – didn’t help.
A year ago, UBS reported 5,773 advisors in the Americas at the end of June. In 2026, that number is 5,644 for the 2.2% decline.
Meanwhile, with the stock market near record highs, UBS reported $900 million during the second quarter in net new asset inflows for its wealth management Americas group, despite $10 billion in second quarter tax-related outflows.
How a subprime lender’s car-loan bonds allegedly unraveled before bankruptcy.
Retirees without an updated plan report nearly 70% moderate-to-high stress – and advisors have room to close the gap.
With one estimate pointing to just a quarter of American adults having a will in place, advisors have an opportunity to audit their books for painful probate court processes just waiting to happen.
Advisors previously with UBS, Edward Jones head for new firms.
Principal Financial Group’s Teresa Hassara shares data showing account balances rising and Roth adoption accelerating.
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
