BY COMFORT OGBONNA
Swiss banking giant UBS Group is facing growing challenges in rebuilding its U.S. wealth management division after losing billions of dollars in client assets and nearly 200 financial advisers over the past year. Analysts and industry sources say the departures and asset outflows are complicating the bank’s efforts to strengthen its position in the highly competitive American wealth management market.
Financial disclosures show the bank recorded net outflows of about $14.1 billion in client assets from its Americas wealth management business during the fourth quarter alone. Over the entire year, the division experienced a net outflow of roughly $6 billion. The decline reflects increasing competition for wealthy clients and financial advisers in the United States, where major institutions are aggressively expanding their wealth management operations.
The setbacks come at a crucial moment for UBS as it tries to grow its presence in the United States, the world’s largest wealth management market. At the same time, the bank is dealing with heightened regulatory pressure in Switzerland following its rescue of Credit Suisse in 2023. Swiss regulators have been considering tougher capital requirements for the combined bank, with new guidelines expected to be clarified later this year.
Analysts warn that continued outflows in the U.S. could make it more difficult for UBS to achieve its growth and profitability goals. Morgan Stanley analyst Giulia Miotto said investors will likely want to see clear evidence that the trend in U.S. client flows is reversing before they regain confidence in the division’s long-term prospects.
According to Miotto, a meaningful turnaround in asset flows is unlikely to become visible until at least the third quarter. Until then, the division’s performance could remain under close scrutiny by analysts and investors.
UBS did not directly respond to questions regarding the outflows but pointed to earlier remarks from its chief executive, Sergio Ermotti, who has said the bank’s strategy for improving the U.S. wealth management business is already beginning to show results.
However, the bank has also experienced a steady departure of financial advisers—an issue that directly affects its ability to retain and attract wealthy clients. Over the past year, nearly 200 advisers left UBS in the United States, according to industry sources familiar with the situation. These advisers often bring their client relationships with them when they move to competing firms.
Many of the departing advisers joined rival institutions including Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, and Royal Bank of Canada. Several of these competitors have been actively recruiting experienced advisers and entire advisory teams from UBS in recent months.
At the end of 2025, UBS employed 5,772 financial advisers in the United States—196 fewer than the previous year. The reduction reflects the intense competition among financial institutions to recruit high-performing advisers who manage large pools of client assets.
Industry insiders say advisers have been leaving UBS for a variety of reasons. Some were attracted by higher compensation packages offered by competing firms, while others cited better access to resources, stronger support systems, or broader opportunities for expanding their businesses.
UBS itself made changes to adviser compensation last September in an effort to address some of those concerns. In February, the bank also promoted Lisa Golia, previously the wealth division’s chief operating officer, to oversee adviser recruitment, retention, and compensation strategies.
The bank’s broader strategy focuses on improving profitability in its U.S. wealth management operations. UBS has set a goal of reaching a 15% pre-tax profit margin in its American wealth division this year. That would represent continued progress from last year, when margins improved from 9.3% to 13%.
Even with that improvement, UBS still trails many of its competitors in profitability. In other regions, the bank’s wealth management division operates at significantly higher margins—about 30% in Europe and the Middle East and roughly 35% in Asia.
Ermotti has defended the bank’s strategy, arguing that UBS must prioritize profitability rather than maintaining relationships that generate insufficient returns. During a conference call with analysts earlier this year, he said the improvement in U.S. margins suggests the bank’s restructuring efforts are beginning to work.
Speaking at an industry conference in Miami, Ermotti explained that some advisers had not been contributing enough to the bank’s profitability. He indicated that changes were necessary even if they made the firm less popular with certain employees.
According to Ermotti, the bank had to reconsider some client relationships because the revenue generated did not justify the capital that UBS was required to allocate to those accounts under regulatory rules.
Another element of the bank’s turnaround strategy involves expanding its banking services in the United States. Earlier this year, UBS received approval for a national banking charter, allowing it to offer a broader range of banking products alongside its wealth management services.
The bank plans to use the new charter to grow its lending business and introduce additional financial products for wealthy clients. Executives believe these offerings will help UBS compete more effectively with U.S. rivals that already provide integrated banking and investment services.
Meanwhile, competitors are continuing to capitalize on UBS’s challenges by recruiting its advisory teams. Canadian banking giant Royal Bank of Canada reported hiring about 90 experienced advisers for its U.S. wealth management division in 2025. Approximately 80% of those hires were generating more than $2 million in annual revenue.
Some of the most prominent hires included teams previously employed by UBS, highlighting how aggressively competitors are targeting the Swiss bank’s talent.
Wells Fargo also recruited a major advisory group from UBS in December. The Boston-based team, known as Hingham Street Partners, managed approximately $6.3 billion in client assets at the time of its move.
Similarly, Bank of America hired a UBS advisory team in Providence, Rhode Island, that managed around $800 million in client assets. The bank had previously recruited other UBS teams in Texas and California.
In some cases, advisers are not simply moving to competing firms but leaving large banks altogether. One former UBS adviser said he decided to establish an independent advisory practice after more than a decade at the bank. He explained that years of cost-cutting had reduced his share of the revenue generated from client fees.
By operating independently, he said he now receives about 70 cents of every dollar in fees before taxes, compared with roughly 50 cents while working at UBS.
Another adviser who spent more than 20 years at the firm said he left because he felt UBS was not providing adequate resources and support to help advisers grow their businesses.
The challenges in the U.S. wealth division are also weighing on investor sentiment toward UBS. The bank’s shares have declined nearly 21% this year as investors await clearer guidance from Swiss regulators on future capital requirements following the Credit Suisse acquisition.
Analysts say the performance of the U.S. wealth management unit remains one of the most important factors shaping investor confidence in UBS’s long-term strategy.
Thomas Hallett, an analyst at KBW, said investors remain concerned about whether the bank can successfully reverse the negative trends in the division. He noted that UBS has set a global target of attracting $125 billion in new client inflows this year, only modestly higher than the $101 billion recorded last year.
According to Hallett, solving the challenges facing UBS’s U.S. wealth management business will take time and sustained effort. The bank must rebuild its adviser workforce, regain client trust, and strengthen profitability while competing against some of the most powerful financial institutions in the American market.
For UBS, the stakes are high. Success in the United States could help solidify its position as the world’s leading wealth manager, while continued struggles could slow its growth ambitions in one of the most important financial markets in the world.
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