UBS is expanding its wealth management business in Asia and emerging markets by hiring client advisers, Juerg Zeltner, who heads the division globally excluding the US and Canada, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
"I would say 70 plus per cent of my net investment is going into Asia and the emerging markets," Zeltner said. "For us at UBS, Asia is the No 1 growth opportunity."
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The expansion in Asia and in emerging markets contrasts with the situation in Europe, where UBS is seeing a contraction in the market, Zeltner added.
Expansion in emerging markets "is sort of half the pace of what we see in Asia", he said, adding that countries such as Brazil and Mexico are at the forefront of that growth.
Zeltner said that UBS’s advisory clients in wealth management still hold "nearly 30%" in cash and are reluctant to invest.
"It’s still a risk-off environment, maybe risk neutral. We haven’t seen a big shift yet," he added.
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By GlobalDataOn April 8, PBI reported that UBS has hired 88 advisers in the Asia Pacific region this year taking the total tally of advisors in the region to 1,120.
UBS, the largest Swiss bank, hired 88 advisers this year to service rich Asian clients after assets at its wealth management business in the region jumped 38 per cent in the past two years.
Commenting on the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, Zeltner said though the dispute has increased uncertainty in the markets, he doesn’t expect an escalation.
"I hope time will give the political establishment the right room for having a dialogue and then things will smooth out," Zeltner opined.
