UBS Sheds $14B in Wealth Assets in the Americas

UBS closed out 2025 on a high note, just not in its wealth business in the Americas.

The Swiss investment bank beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations Wednesday, posting net profits of $1.2 billion. But those results weren’t enough to hide continued struggles inside the firm’s wealth management division, particularly in the Americas. While UBS’ global wealth unit attracted strong inflows from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, its Americas business lagged behind, shedding more than $14 billion in client assets during the quarter as advisors continued to walk out the door after compensation changes were made last year. Shares of the Zurich-based bank fell about 6% by the close of trading Wednesday. 

“You’ll see more advisors leaving, certainly in the first quarter, and they’re going to have a really hard time recruiting competitively for this year,” said Jason Diamond, president of Diamond Consultants.

Movin’ Out (Advisors’ Song)

The outflows come as UBS continues to reshape its US wealth business as well as its Credit Suisse integration early last year, the firm reorganized the unit into four regional divisions as part of a broader push to improve profitability. So far, the results have been uneven. The latest earning report shows:

• Advisor headcount across the Americas, which includes the US, Canada and Latin America, fell to 5,772 at the end of the year, down from 5,968 a year earlier. 
• UBS’ global wealth unit brought in $8.5 billion in net new assets during the quarter, plummeting approximately 77% from the prior quarter, and roughly 52% from a year ago.

“We’re certainly not satisfied with the net movement we’ve seen around our advisors,” Chief Financial Officer Todd Tuckner said on the firm’s earnings call. “We expect net new assets in the Americas to be positive in 2026, supported by a healthy recruiting pipeline and improved retention of our most productive advisors.”

UBS did not answer additional questions about the report.

Shedding a Few Pounds. Some of the exits may have been a result of UBS trimming its pay grid for advisors and incentives for teams in 2025. In September, the company walked back some of those cuts for its 2026 advisor compensation plan, which includes raising the grid payout rate. “The question is whether they can retain advisors at this point, because I don’t see a world where they’re going to be able to meaningfully recruit this year unless it’s an acquisition,” Diamond said.