UBS Group AG executives pushed back on concerns about mounting advisor departures and accelerating client withdrawals from its U.S. wealth management business, describing the pressure as a temporary and expected consequence of strategic changes aimed at improving profitability, according to reported remarks reviewed by AdvisorHub.
During the fourth quarter, UBS clients withdrew a net $14.1 billion, a sharp increase from $8.6 billion in net outflows the prior quarter. Those withdrawals drove negative net new assets for the full year. AdvisorHub reports that the results marked a stark reversal from the fourth quarter of 2024, when UBS reported $13.7 billion in net inflows before implementing significant reductions to advisor compensation that triggered a wave of broker defections.
Chief Financial Officer Todd Tuckner acknowledged that UBS leadership remains dissatisfied with the loss of advisors and client assets. AdvisorHub states that he characterized the trend as a transition-related issue stemming from compensation and structural changes that executives viewed as necessary to improve pre-tax margins. However, UBS expects net new assets in the Americas to turn positive in 2026, citing a strong recruiting pipeline and improved retention among the firm's most productive advisors, according to AdvisorHub.
Despite the client outflows, UBS improved its profitability. The firm increased its profit margin by two percentage points to 13 percent for the year. According to AdvisorHub, that figure still lags far behind U.S. rivals such as Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, which operate near 30 percent, but it moved UBS closer to its stated goal of reaching an 18 percent margin by 2028.
UBS also posted solid financial performance in the fourth quarter. Revenue climbed more than 9 percent to $3.21 billion, while costs rose just 2.6 percent to $2.78 billion. Pretax profit reached $417 million. The firm closed the year with $2.28 trillion in invested assets, up from $2.11 trillion in 2024, as market appreciation more than offset client withdrawals.
In response to advisor attrition, UBS took steps last year to stabilize its workforce and strengthen recruiting. According to AdvisorHub, the firm limited changes to its 2026 broker compensation plan and attempted to ease the impact of deeper cuts made under the 2025 plan without reversing them. UBS also recruited Ben Firestein, Morgan Stanley's former national head of recruiting, who is set to join the firm this month after completing a garden leave.
UBS's Americas advisor headcount, which includes brokers in the U.S., Latin America, and Canada, remained largely flat sequentially, declining by a net seven advisors to 5,772 at year's end. On a year-over-year basis, headcount fell 3.3 percent. Advisor departures have continued into this year, with brokers leaving for firms such as RBC Wealth Management U.S., Wells Fargo Advisors, Merrill Lynch, and independent broker-dealers.
According to AdvisorHub, data shows that UBS's U.S. business lost at least 54 advisor teams last year, representing 132 advisors who collectively managed nearly $52 billion in client assets. That level of attrition far exceeded the roughly 20 teams and $12 billion in assets that departed during all of 2024, underscoring the scale of the challenge UBS now faces as it works to stabilize its U.S. wealth franchise.
Financial Advisor Transitions consults advisors nationwide to explore employment transition options and to preserve and protect their practice in any transition that they make.
