UBS Wealth Management USA will leave its core advisor payout grid unchanged in 2027 while expanding retention and growth incentives.,. The changes follow two years of compensation adjustments and come as the firm works to curb advisor departures
UBS told advisors that the 2027 plan emphasizes predictability and incorporates feedback from advisors and field leaders. The firm will enhance its Pathways retention program, make several growth awards easier to earn and expand other advisor incentives.
UBS introduced Pathways in March to provide advisors with an advance on payments they could eventually receive through the firm's Aspiring Legacy Financial Advisor (ALFA) succession program. Pathways currently pays advisors 100% of production if they agree to retire at UBS.
Under the 2027 changes, UBS will add a growth bonus equal to 25% of trailing 12-month revenue for Pathways participants who achieve above-average net new asset growth, according to three sources close to the firm. UBS will fund the additional payment without reducing future ALFA payments.
Pathways does not impose a minimum age, but advisors must have worked at UBS for at least 10 years and must repay the funds if they leave the firm. UBS will apply the new growth bonus retroactively to advisors who joined Pathways earlier this year, according to the sources.
The changes follow a period of advisor departures after UBS's 2025 compensation plan hit teams, junior advisors and lower producers particularly hard. According to an AdvisorHub tally, at least 27 teams managing $28 billion left UBS during the first half of 2026. That followed 54 teams managing nearly $52 billion that departed the previous year.
Two managers at competing firms, including a former UBS field leader, told AdvisorHub that Pathways has gained traction with advisors who already planned to remain at UBS. However, they did not expect the program alone to stop departures given the size of recruiting offers available elsewhere.
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