By Andrew Welsch
UBS is reorganizing its U.S. wealth management unit, a move that comes as the Swiss bank looks to grow the business and improve profit margins.
Starting Jan. 1, UBS' U.S. field management structure will consist of four regional units (Northeast, Southeast, West, and Central), as well as a unit for advisors serving international clients and one focused on clients of more modest wealth. The company's U.S. advisors are currently split into two divisions, a structure UBS adopted in 2022.
The new structure is intended to empower managers and speed decision-making, according to a memo sent to employees earlier this week.
Regional leaders Chris DiMuria, Julie Fox, Lauren Gorsche, Jon Ramey will report to Mike Camacho, head of U.S. Wealth Management at UBS. Rick Gonzalez, the head of UBS International, and Len Golub, head of the Wealth Advice Center, will also report to Camacho.
The Wealth Advice Center contains advisors who work with clients who have more modest sums to invest. The elevation of the center to a separate unit suggests that UBS wants to drum up more business with mass-affluent clients.
In other moves, Division Director Jennifer Povlitz will become vice chair for global wealth management in the U.S. and report to Jason Chandler, chair of global wealth management Americas. John Mathews, the company's other division director, oversees UBS' private wealth unit, a role he'll continue to occupy, according to the memo. The private wealth unit contains advisors who work with ultrawealthy clients. It will become a dedicated cross-regional advisor segment, according to the memo.
In addition, UBS is expanding its teams, or what it calls "pods", that help connect advisors and ultrawealthy clients with specialty products and services. The company is also hiring JPMorgan Chase executive Ogden Hammond to lead strategy for its Americas unit.
The Wall Street Journal first reported news about UBS' organizational changes.
UBS executives have said recently that they want the U.S. wealth management unit's pretax profit margins to increase to the midteens from approximately 10% currently. The company recently unveiled a new compensation plan that cuts pay for advisors who generate less than $750,000 in annual revenue, a move that may help it save a little on costs and push advisors to drum up more business.
The company has also made some leadership changes this year. It appointed Rob Karofsky president of UBS Americas; he previously oversaw the investment bank unit. And UBS hired Michael Camacho, a former JPMorgan executive, to lead its U.S. wealth unit.
Karofsky told the Wall Street Journal this week that the U.S. wealth unit's margins are not where they should be. "We can't shrink the business to profitability. We have to invest in growth."
Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
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December 12, 2024 15:04 ET (20:04 GMT)
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