Switzerland's largest bank has set up a family office unit for Australia, tapping into perceived growth in this market.

UBS has set up a global family office business in Australia, the
Swiss bank has announced, reflecting its conviction that wealth growth in the
Asia-Pacific region will continue to grow strongly.

The new group brings together the Zurich-listed firm’s investment
bank and wealth management businesses in Australia.

The bank, like some of its rivals, sees the family office
space as an important market sector. While a number of studies have predicted a big
expansion of the family office sector in the region, they are relatively rare
compared with the North America and European
markets.

In its statement about the Australia initiative, UBS said its GFO
offering includes discretionary and advisory portfolio construction advice,
philanthropic advice and execution across equities, fixed income, cash and
alternative asset classes.

"From our extensive experience as wealth managers, we
know that family offices are looking beyond the usual investment themes for
exclusive opportunities in areas such as private markets and alternative
investments, as well as advice on philanthropy,” Mike Chisholm, head of wealth
management for UBS Australia, said.

David Wilson, head of GFO for UBS Australia said; "Our
family office clients in Australia
have very similar needs to our institutional and hedge fund clients. This
offering is designed to utilise the resources across our businesses and to
tailor cross business solutions to cater to the highly sophisticated and global
needs of these valued clients.