In Euromoney’s 18th annual private banking survey, UBS Global Wealth Management was again leader of the pack – the gold standard for others to emulate.
Like last year, the Swiss lender was voted the world’s best wealth manager, this time by 2,114 senior private bankers around the world.
In the face of a pandemic that hit every economy hard, but also offered a form of financial salvation for the world’s best wealth managers courtesy of long periods of heightened volatility, UBS flourished.
It ranked number one for best private banking services and secured more votes in a host of other global categories, from family offices to international clients, and high-net-worth (HNW) individuals to ESG/impact investing.
Its peers voted it the best wealth manager in Asia and Western Europe, and, at a local level, in Hong Kong and Singapore, Germany and Switzerland.
Tom Naratil, co-president of global wealth management and president Americas at UBS, says wealth management is not just something the bank does, but the “core” of its DNA.
The bank had three regions in wealth management in 2020, each of which generated more than $1 billion in pre-tax profit, and one market – Switzerland – that topped the $600 million mark.
Iqbal Khan, co-president of global wealth management at UBS, said the key was “not just about ideas [but about] making those ideas investable for clients”.
Other banks also had a standout year.
JPMorgan was named the best provider to mega-HNW clients with more than $250 million in investable assets. It topped the global rankings in capital markets and advisory, investment management, research and asset allocation advice, and serving business owners.
It also walked away with the award for best private bank in Latin America.
Santander, a rising power in private banking, topped the polls in a host of awards.
In mass affluents, a new category for those with $100,000 to $1 million in investable assets, the Spanish banking group led the way. It also ranked number one in Spain, Poland and Mexico, second in the US, and fourth overall in North America.
Santander’s breakthrough moment came in 2017 when it merged its private banking operations and tapped Victor Matarranz to run the division.
“In terms of the look and feel of the brand, it’s the same in each market,” says the global head of Santander Wealth Management and Insurance.
It is the kind of factor that matters to its wealthy clients and to the private bankers we poll every year.
Key trends for 2021
The majority of wealth managers tip revenues to be higher in 2021 than they were in 2020. Others expect the industry to struggle to match last year’s outsized profits, in part due to lower market volatility.
Private banks, keen to tap fresh sources of yield, will focus on alternative assets such as private equity. Wealth management’s ability to generate outsized returns on equity will put it at the heart of the banking process.
Private bankers tip HNW clients with $5 million to $30 million in investable assets to present them with the greatest growth opportunities, followed by super-affluents with $1 million to $5 million and ultra-HNWs.
Wealth managers will focus most heavily in 2021 on investing in technology, followed by cyber-security, and regulatory risk and compliance.
China will be a key focus of all big wealth managers, as banks look ahead to the opening up of the cross-border Wealth Management Connect scheme, and seek more ways to find new clients and tap additional sources of growth in Asia’s largest economy.
