Swiss wealth management giant UBS wants to grow its assets by $5bn (£3.7bn, €4.22bn) through the international expansion of its digital portfolio management system, it has confirmed to International Adviser.
It is looking to attract ultra-high net worth clients through increased digitalisation several years after it sold off its robo-adviser UBS Smartwealth.
UBS is extending a recently introduced hybrid platform that allows clients to customise their portfolios digitally with the assistance of human advisers. The My Way system was rolled out to Swiss domestic clients in May 2020, according to Reuters.
The platform has an initial investment of CHF250,000 (£206,610, $274,380, €231,440).
Expansion
“Since launching in Switzerland, we’ve never seen so many non-clients reaching out to us,” Andre Spycher, head of sales management for UBS wealth business in Switzerland, told Reuters. “We still see massive upside potential in Switzerland; and as the largest wealth manager in Asia, we see huge potential there, too.”
According to the newswire, the Swiss private bank plans to launch the platform in Asia as well as German and UK international clients.
Subsequently, it will increase its offering across Europe.
Smartwealth
The news comes years after UBS sold the intellectual property relating to UBS Smartwealth, which launched in February 2017, to Sigfig, a US financial technology firm.
At the time, the firm said: “Having conducted a thorough assessment, however, at this time we believe the near-term potential is limited and have therefore decided to close our digital-only offering in the UK.”
