Advisor departures weigh on UBS Americas’ Q2 inflows

UBS’s Americas unit posted $900 million in net new asset inflows in the second quarter after losing nearly 80 advisors during the period. Executives warned the advisor exits are producing a ‘lag effect’ that could weigh on inflows in coming quarters.

The Q2 result followed $14 billion of net inflows in the first quarter and compared with a $3.5 billion outflow in the same quarter a year earlier. CEO Sergio Ermotti attributed much of the quarter-to-quarter decline to seasonal tax-related withdrawals of about $10 billion and noted that excluding those outflows the U.S. business performed strongly.

UBS has hired several advisors recently, including three private bankers managing roughly $1.3 billion from another firm and an advisor overseeing about $1.2 billion from a boutique manager. Despite those additions, advisor headcount in the Americas fell to 5,644 at quarter-end from 5,722, a net loss of nearly 80 advisors. CFO Todd Tuckner warned the departures are creating a lag effect on inflows and added that the bank is actively recruiting and investing in teams aligned with its profitability goals.

The Americas unit recorded growth on other measures. Total client assets rose almost 11% year over year to about $2.4 trillion. Assets that generate wealth-management fees increased nearly 11% to roughly $1.25 trillion. Division revenue climbed 15% to $3.36 billion and operating profit rose 47% to $534 million. The unit’s cost-to-income ratio improved to 84.1% from 87.4% in the prior quarter after changes to advisor compensation aimed at boosting margins.

On a global basis, UBS’s wealth-management businesses reported invested assets up nearly 10% year over year to just over $4.94 trillion. Combined revenue increased 12% to $14.2 billion, and profits before tax rose 43% to about $3.68 billion. Global wealth headcount ended the quarter at 9,173, down roughly 4% from a year earlier; UBS said that decline was affected by a reclassification of certain advisory roles.

Looking ahead, UBS expects elevated advisor rotation to normalize in 2026. Tuckner said the bank will continue to recruit and invest and expects the book’s dynamics to stabilize over the course of 2026.