UBS Wealth Management America's net income decreased by $76 million from the 2021's quarter as revenue declined by 5 percent to $2.64 billion. The decline is disappointing compared to the performance of UBS' other three geographic regions and contrasted with positive results from the bank's competitors.
Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers shared that most of its U.S. competitors had a more established bank, greater scale and business mix that helped improve margins and attract new clients.
Hamer boasted about how UBS's hiring initiatives are paying off in terms of net new assets. Since last year, UBS has added $17 billion in net new advisory assets and $4.2 billion in the quarter.
Although UBS has accelerated its recruiting efforts, the bank ended the year with 6,245 advisors, a decline of 12 over the last three months of 2022. Hamers noted that he is confident that UBS could still capture "upside" in the business with its current headcount as the firm has focused in recent years on a smaller but more productive group of advisors, according to AdvisorHub.
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