EXCLUSIVE: Expansion-Minded UBS Sets Out Growth Ambitions In Asia

Tom Burroughes and Tom King

22 April 2014

is making quite a splash these days and more often as not, for the right reasons. A few days ago, the Swiss banking firm announced that it had hired no fewer than 88 relationship managers across the Asia-Pacific region so far this year, an 8 per cent increase in headcount. While the bank should not be complacent about its position, given that Asia is not as easy a market to succeed in as some might assume, the Zurich-listed firm has a spring in its step at present, with recent results suggesting forward momentum. After the announcement about job hires, this publication felt it would be an opportune moment to interview Kathryn Shih, chief executive of UBS Wealth Management Asia-Pacific.

What has been the greatest challenge in recruiting these people?
The wealth management industry is going through a period of consolidation. With rising costs of hiring, investments into compliance and technology, those who have the scale and commitment will likely dominate the industry. We have made it clear about our ambitions and commitment to Asia. Our CEO for Wealth Management, Juerg Zeltner, has said that Asia and emerging markets are our number one opportunities. And we have backed up our commitments with investments which have made UBS the largest wealth manager globally and in Asia.

This makes our job of hiring relatively easier in a tight market. The initial excessive turnover in the wealth management industry has eased as wealth management firms are more conscious of costs, and it has become clear, from the client advisors' perspective, the differences among the firms and how having a good platform can enable them to serve their clients better.

Has the ability to hire so many exceeded your expectations?
UBS's ability to attract and retain high calibre talents stems from our ability to offer a strong brand, an attractive place to conduct and develop their business, a powerful global platform, and best-in-class products and solutions based on research. We are a global bank with deep roots in Asia. UBS’s scale as well as our integrated bank platform allows us to draw on the global resources and expertise throughout UBS, from wealth management, to investment bank, to global asset management, which gives us the capabilities to deliver holistic and tailored solutions and offer global investment opportunities to our clients.

What has always attracted potential hires is the fact that they can build a wealth management career at UBS, as we offer a variety of training, internal career mobility and career development opportunities. For example, the UBS Business University delivers comprehensive curricula for client-facing staff with certification programmes such as the Wealth Management Master's programme and the Wealth Management Diploma training. All UBS client advisors complete the Wealth Management Diploma, which is recognised by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and certified by Singapore’s Institute of Banking and Finance. The UBS calling card opens doors. And this is why we are able to recruit the best.

What sort of targets for external hires do you have in Asia-Pacific for the remainder of 2014? Are there any percentage/numeric targets you can share?
We already have the largest and most experienced team of client advisers in the region. Asia Pacific continues to be one of the fastest-growing regions in the world for UBS and we continue to hire strategically in accordance with the growth needs of the business.

Finally without naming names, where does the recent hiring put you in comparison to your rivals? Does UBS now have the largest team of Private Bankers in Asia?
With 1,120 client advisors across the region, we have the largest team by far of any wealth management firm in the region. But beyond the numbers, we believe we have the most experienced and well-trained bankers in the industry. I am proud that due to the hard work of our team and support of our clients, 2013 was a good year for UBS Wealth Management.

For the year ended 2013, wealth management adjusted profit before tax was up 17 per cent to SFr2.4 billion ($2.71 billion) while net new money was up SFr9.6 billion to SFr35.9 billion due to strong inflows, particularly from Asia-Pacific and ultra-high net worth clients globally. Revenues for the wealth management division increased by SFr2.3 billion from SFr25.4 billion to SFr27.7 billion. In Asia Pacific, we ended 2013 with assets under management of SFr218 billon, a more than 11 per cent increase year-on-year.

Asia is the fastest growing wealth region in the world and we will continue to invest and hire to meet the demands of the market.