UBS

An independent review by our team of experts

Founded in 1862, UBS is a Swiss bank that provides private banking, wealth management, asset management and investment banking services. Business insider recently ranked UBS as the 12th largest bank in Europe.

UBS has a presence all around the world, including Asia, EMEA and the US. They have $2.6 trillion of assets under management (as of 15th December, 2020) and 72,887 employees.

As a financial services provider based in Switzerland, UBS is subject to the consolidated supervision of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and is regulated by the concerned authorities in each country of business.

UBS offers private clients wealth management and investment banking services that best suit their needs.

Their wealth planners call this the financial blueprint. In it, they detail a clients current circumstances and create a flexible investment plan based on that.

1. Investment services:

UBS's investment service claims to focus on the bigger picture for their clients, helping them make sense of it and creating an investment strategy that is in line with their needs.

UBS's investment services can be summarised below:

Topic	Description
Building a strategy	UBS's wealth managers help you identify your priorities and build your financial plan around that. What matters to you could be anything...wealth preservation, business growth, family wealth, etc.
Monitoring the markets	UBS's investment management process is said to help you navigate complex investment markets and optimise your investment portfolio to deliver the best results.
Managing your portfolio	The portfolio managers at UBS use research to update your portfolio and optimise it to adapt to market changes through continuous monitoring (we would recommend reading about the 3 key investment strategies and their differences here before making a decision).

UBS Advice^TM

UBS offers an advised portfolio service that provides their private clients with research and recommendations from professional analysts.

A personal adviser is also assigned to clients as part of UBS Advice. This adviser offers recommendations to help clients keep their portfolios balanced and profitable.

UBS also claims to provide regular updates about new investment opportunities, continuous monitoring, access to a portfolio specialist and other online services.

Sharia-friendly solutions are also offered to clients.

2. Banking services:

UBS claims to support their client's banking needs anywhere in the world.

They offer a variety of banking solutions such as:

Financing backed by securities:
UBS aims to provide clients with greater flexibility through this service. They claim to offer clients the ability to invest without selling their assets and get financing that is backed against these assets (Lombard lending).
Succession planning:
UBS claims to offer asset protection and succession planning services that can help clients pass on their wealth down generations with high confidentiality.
Trust and foundations:
UBS helps clients secure their wealth from taxes and unforeseen circumstances using funds. They also help clients set up charitable foundations. These are set up to enable donations to charities or for charitable activities.

Other services related to art, businesses and wealth are also provided by UBS.

NOTE:

We would highly recommend reading the 'expert verdict' section of this review to make an informed decision.

Additionally, here's a free guide that can help you achieve better results. In this guide, you'll learn:

Academic evidence only shared with a select few firms across the world
A real-life example of why you should never try to outguess the market
Why a fund's past performance is not enough to predict future returns
Why you need to focus on what you can control and why this leads to a better investment experience
Why you should accept the markets for what they are
What can impact behaviour and make people seek instant gratification

The Pros

> Global access

> e-Banking

The Cons

> Expensive

> Not the best way to invest

> Commonly mis-used

How does the Lombard lending service provided by UBS help?

Lombard lending is taken by clients for three main reasons:

Improved returns: a Lombard loan allows you to take a loan against an existing portfolio, which in turn allows you to reinvest the proceeds and increase the portfolio's profitability.
Flexibility: UBS allows clients the option to take loans against a portfolio and use the liquid amount freely, without affecting assets.
Diversification: Investors can use this lending service to take a loan against the existing portfolio and use it to diversify their portfolio.

UBS also allows clients to take loans that are backed by property and real estate holdings.

Does UBS offer sustainable investment options?

Yes, UBS offers sustainable investment options.

They have a quiz to help you challenge your knowledge about sustainable investing and list steps to help you build a portfolio that has an impact on the world.

This includes checking your current portfolio, identifying the causes that are close to your heart and putting a plan in action.

What is the minimum investment amount UBS has for their managed portfolio service?

You need a minimum investment amount of CHF 1,000,000 to take advantage of UBS's portfolio management services.

What are the different investment strategies UBS provides their managed clients with?

UBS offers a variety of investment strategies that clients are free to choose from based on their risk appetite. The options include:

Fixed income
Regular interest income
Yield
Balanced
Growth
Equity

How can UBS's personal investment advisory service help me?

UBS claims to help clients in the following ways through their personalised investment advisory service:

Gives you access to SEC registered investment funds.
Get tailored advice from UBS's advisory team.
Continuous portfolio monitoring.
Risk reviews done every 6 months.
Regular market updates from UBS professionals.

Expert assessment of UBS

UBS is a very large, top tier private bank with a very well-known brand, making it a good option for senior international investors.

However the traditional values you would expect from a private bank, such as trust and an uncompromising duty of care, are harder to achieve, the larger the outfit. UBS also lacks independence and is only able to push its own products and services, as opposed to being able to offer you the best in the market.

Also, because UBS 'does everything', its private bankers are also likely to be incentivised to sell you a bit of everything.

If you are already a private banking client of UBS, we would recommend a no-obligation Second Opinion to ensure you are on track to reach your ideal future.

Additionally, we are happy to review the financial plan that has led to the investment portfolio you currently have.

UBS - SFA Brochure

UBS - Global Portfolio Management Guide

UBS - International Portfolio Management Factsheet

UBS - Sustainable Investing Factsheet

UBS - Personalised Investment Advice Factsheet

UBS - SFA Login App Guide

UBS - Business Banking Solutions

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RISKS

Investments involve risks. The investment return and principal value of an investment may fluctuate so that an investment, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the capital invested. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee strategies will be successful. For further information, please click here.

UBS

An independent review by our team of experts

REVIEW SUMMARY