UBS Wealth Relying on Lending as Client Assets Dip
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.
UBS Wealth Management is relying on loan growth and increasing interest rates amidst a quarter that the company has categorized as “one of the most challenging periods for investors in the last 10 years”, according to UBS CEO Ralph Hamers.
UBS’s wealth management business collected $2.64 billion in revenue during the quarter, which constitutes a 1% increase from $2.62 billion last year. However, according to the company’s second quarter earnings report, assets under management, due to net outflows from fee-based accounts, have declined. Assets under management at the company decreased by 9% to $1.57 trillion from $1.7 trillion last year, according to UBS. Predicting assets flows is difficult during “uncertain times,” according to Hamers. However, Hamers anticipates that the promotion of its “no fee” separately managed account program and broker recruiting initiatives would boost asset flows moving forward.
On the other hand, net interest income skyrocketed 37% as clients took out $3.8 billion in net new loans during the quarter.
Besides UBS, several industry competitors increasingly have relied on lending as a means to generate non-compensable revenue. Lending is not shared directly with their sales force in comparison to advisory fees.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.
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