Q1: Private banks in Asia have faced a number of challenges in 2024, from uncertainty around interest rate cuts in the US to volatile markets and geopolitical tensions. Considering this background, how did you safeguard AUM and revenue streams in 2024, while also attracting net new assets? What will your strategy be in 2025?

In everything we do, we are where our clients are. The millionaires and billionaires are migrating their wealth in different directions across the globe. In times like these, a holistic global proposition is what clients look for. Our global connectivity enables us to deliver to our clients what’s best for their portfolio, whether it is in Asia or other parts of the world. In 2025, we want to strengthen the way we capture cross-regional flows, with a key focus on APAC-US, Middle East and Switzerland corridors. Cross-divisionally, we have a proven OneBank strategy as seen from our established Global Family and Institutional Wealth (GFIW) coverage and Unified Global Markets (UGM) platform. We are scaling our OneBank collaboration with the launch of GWM Solutions which comprises new platforms including Unified Global Alternatives (UGA) and Unified Global Banking (UGB).

Another of our top priorities is to focus on our next generation strategy. We are seeing a great wealth transfer in APAC as more of our clients are involving their next generation in family and wealth planning decisions. At UBS, we have developed comprehensive next generation initiatives that are designed to engage and have educated more than 1,700 next generation wealth holders in over 75 different countries in the past 20-plus years. For instance, UBS hosts two flagship Next Generation programmes every year – the UBS Leadership Excellence and Development Series (LEADS) and The UBS Global Rising Investors Program. These platforms, we offer to our clients ensure that the next generation is well-equipped to manage their family’s wealth and legacy.

Q2: In 2024, the private banking industry witnessed organisational restructurings, leadership reshuffles, as well as heavyweight departures. Looking forward, what are the priorities for your private bank in terms of attracting and retaining talent across the front, middle, and back office? What measures do you have in place for managing personnel transitions?

Our people are our biggest priority in running a successful business. At UBS, it is about quality over quantity. This is testified by our long retention rate of our staff across the region. Ultimately, we are a people business.

First, culture defines us. UBS has a very strong culture, which is a key reason that we have a long tenure of talent. We believe that diverse teams are able to better understand and relate to the needs of our diverse clientele, while inclusive leadership and a work environment with equal access to opportunities allow us to attract and retain highly talented individuals.

Increasing UBS’s gender diversity and parity is a strategic priority as well. We aim to support and enable more women to build long and satisfying careers at UBS while increasing the representation of women at senior management levels. Globally, UBS aspires to reach 30% representation of women at director level and above by 2025.

We are committed to building a future pipeline of talent for the banking industry. In APAC, we have many development programmes to grow our young talents. Upskilling training for our talents on regulatory changes and the latest trends including digital, ESG, impact investing, philanthropy, and succession planning, are key to addressing and capturing future trends and opportunities.

Q3: Much hype has been made about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. What opportunities does AI present to your financial institution, and how does it fit into a broader strategy of technological upgrade and digitisation?

Although we see a big AI wave today, UBS has been using AI for a decade. Our AI strategy focuses on reshaping business capabilities and enhancing productivity. We have integrated AI into our processes, supporting client advisors and automating tasks across all business functions.

We are at a pivotal moment as AI redefines how we conduct business. Our client-centric AI approach aligns our innovations with clients’ goals and fosters trust. Our industry-leading cloud capabilities have laid the foundation for us to advance technology products and solutions using AI. Our solutions serve to streamline our operations and improve risk management while maintaining agility and ensuring we remain at the forefront of our industry.

The recent launch of our AI & Transformation Factory, which was first rolled out globally in Singapore, is a testament to our commitment to innovation. This AI Factory harnesses AI to develop solutions that meet and anticipate client needs globally. It is a hub for technological advancement, where we integrate AI into our global wealth management practices, starting locally in APAC but with a global vision. This transformation streamlines our operations, making the process simpler and enabling us to build deeper client relationships.

We are one of the largest financial services to roll out the Microsoft Copilot with 50,000 employees currently underway between now and the end of Q1 2025. This aims to significantly increase the productivity of our firm. We are also looking at copilots that provide client advisors with UBS thought leadership, and compile recommendations ahead of and resulting from client meetings. This delivers a much more personalised experience for clients and allows us to better deliver the whole of UBS to clients.

Q4: With wealth clients being increasingly sophisticated, tech-savvy, and time-conscious, they are demanding more expertise and capabilities when it comes to discretionary portfolio management offerings. How is this reflected in your long-term approach to DPM in Asia and efforts to deepen client penetration of these solutions?

The evolving demands of wealth clients are shaping our long-term approach to DPM in Asia. With the integration of Credit Suisse, we have established a global and regional powerhouse in discretionary solutions, leveraging the strengths of both institutions to enhance our offerings and provide unparalleled service. The clients’ needs are at the core of our discretionary offerings. We are uniquely set up to deliver for all the client segments we serve from the affluent to UHNW.

Solutions today also need to be hyper-personalised. For example, UBS My Way allows clients to craft their portfolios themselves or with the support of their client advisors. They can choose from more than 70 unique investment building blocks across active, passive, direct and thematic investment exposures. This offering is also accessible to our clients at their fingertips. They can access their portfolios anytime via the UBS Mobile Banking App, making changes with ease from proposal to implementation and after-sales. Today, UBS My Way has attracted more than US$14 billion in AUM globally and has grown 35% YoY in AUM in Asia.