UBS Asset Management
UBS Group's asset management business in Japan
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
UBS Asset Management is the asset-management business of UBS Group AG and one of the major investment-management organizations associated with the Swiss banking group. It manages and advises assets for institutional investors, financial intermediaries, sovereign and public-sector entities, family offices and private clients. Its activities span traditional public-market investment, index and exchange-traded products, active equity and fixed income, multi-asset portfolios, sustainable and thematic strategies, liquidity management, real estate, infrastructure, private equity and other private-market investments. The business developed from the investment-management capabilities assembled by UBS and predecessor institutions. UBS's modern group structure emerged from the merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998, after which the combined group integrated investment-management operations serving Swiss and international clients. The asset-management franchise also incorporated capabilities inherited from businesses such as Phillips & Drew and Brinson Partners, helping give UBS a presence in European, North American and global institutional investment markets. Over time, the business used a combination of organic expansion, specialist teams and acquisitions to broaden its regional and product coverage. UBS Asset Management operates within a broader UBS model that combines wealth management, investment banking, personal and corporate banking, and asset management. Unlike the bank's wealth-management business, which primarily manages portfolios and provides advice for high-net-worth individuals and families, UBS Asset Management is organized around investment capabilities and distribution to a broad range of professional and institutional clients. It can therefore serve as both a manufacturing platform for investment strategies and a provider of portfolio solutions, mandates, funds and advisory services. Its product architecture includes actively managed equity and bond funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds, money-market and liquidity strategies, multi-asset solutions, target-date and liability-oriented portfolios, and alternative investments. The real-estate and infrastructure businesses provide exposure to tangible assets and are important parts of the firm's private-markets offering. UBS also distributes investment solutions through its own wealth-management and banking channels as well as through external advisers, platforms and institutional relationships. Sustainability has been integrated into the firm's research, stewardship and product-development work, although the scope and methodology of sustainable-investment products vary by strategy and jurisdiction. Like other large asset managers, UBS Asset Management has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny concerning fund disclosures, stewardship claims, liquidity, benchmark design and the marketing of environmental, social and governance products. A major strategic turning point came with UBS's acquisition of Credit Suisse in 2023. The transaction brought Credit Suisse Asset Management capabilities, personnel, client relationships and investment products into the UBS group. Integration has required decisions about overlapping platforms, legal entities, products, offices and operating systems, while also creating opportunities to expand scale in areas such as index investing, fixed income, alternatives and institutional solutions. The business remains an active global asset manager under UBS ownership; precise assets under management, employee numbers and regional rankings change over time and are therefore not stated here without a dated source.
History
UBS Asset Management is rooted in the investment-management activities of UBS and the predecessor banks that formed the modern UBS group. UBS was created in 1998 through the merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation. The combined institution inherited established Swiss portfolio-management operations and international investment businesses, and subsequently organized them into a more unified asset-management platform. The franchise's development also reflects the international expansion of predecessor investment managers. Phillips & Drew, a prominent British investment manager, became part of the UBS group in the 1990s, while Brinson Partners brought a major North American institutional-investment capability. These businesses added research teams, distribution relationships and experience across equities, fixed income, asset allocation and global mandates. Their integration helped UBS move beyond a primarily Swiss banking identity toward a more internationally oriented investment manager. During the 2000s and 2010s, UBS Asset Management expanded its range of strategies and client channels. It built capabilities in active and passive investing, indexed portfolios, exchange-traded products, multi-asset allocation, liquidity management and sustainable investment. It also maintained specialist businesses in real estate and infrastructure, allowing clients to access private and tangible assets alongside conventional securities. The business served pension funds, insurers, sovereign institutions, intermediaries, financial advisers and private clients, with distribution supported by UBS's wealth-management and banking franchises. The asset-management industry changed materially during this period. Institutional clients increasingly demanded lower-cost beta, factor strategies, ETFs, outcome-oriented portfolios and customized mandates, while regulators placed greater emphasis on liquidity, governance, stewardship and disclosure. UBS Asset Management responded by combining active management and specialist alternatives with indexed products and scalable portfolio solutions. Its sustainable-investment offering became a significant area of product development, research and client engagement, subject to the differing regulatory definitions and disclosure requirements of each market. The most important recent change was UBS's acquisition of Credit Suisse in 2023. Credit Suisse had its own global asset-management business, including public-market, real-estate, index and alternative-investment capabilities. The transaction materially increased the complexity and scale of UBS's asset-management organization. Integration work has included assessing duplicated funds and mandates, harmonizing technology and operations, consolidating legal entities and offices, retaining investment talent, and deciding how acquired products should be managed or distributed. These choices are strategic as well as operational because they affect client continuity, fees, investment capacity and the future mix between active, passive and private-market offerings. Today, UBS Asset Management remains a business of UBS Group rather than an independently listed company. It operates internationally and combines investment manufacturing, portfolio management, advisory work and distribution. Its historical identity is therefore best understood as a global asset-management platform assembled from Swiss banking roots, international specialist managers and later group-level acquisitions.
- 2024
Leadership transition in Asset Management
[4]UBS announced Barry Gill as the incoming leader of Asset Management, succeeding Suni Harford.
- 2023
UBS completes the acquisition of Credit Suisse
[3]The transaction added Credit Suisse's asset-management operations and initiated a broad integration program.
- 1998
Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation merge
[2]The merger created the modern UBS group and brought together the predecessor institutions' investment-management operations.
Products and positioning
A diversified, globally distributed institutional and wholesale asset manager backed by the balance sheet, research platform and distribution network of UBS Group.
Public markets
Active equities
Fund and segregated-mandate strategies investing in regional, global, sectoral, thematic and style-oriented equity markets. Portfolios may be designed for institutional objectives, intermediary distribution or private-client allocation and can incorporate fundamental research, quantitative techniques and sustainability analysis.
Public markets
Fixed income
Bond and credit strategies covering government, investment-grade, high-yield, emerging-market and other fixed-income exposures. The range includes actively managed funds, institutional mandates and solutions designed around income, duration, credit risk or liability-management requirements.
Passive investment
UBS ETFs and index strategies
Exchange-traded and index-based investment products providing rules-based exposure to equity, bond, commodity, factor, thematic and sustainable benchmarks. These products are distributed through professional and intermediary channels and are designed to offer transparent, scalable market exposure.
Portfolio solutions
Multi-asset solutions
Portfolios combining equities, bonds, cash and alternative assets to target particular risk, return, income or liability outcomes. UBS Asset Management provides both pooled products and customized institutional mandates, including allocation, manager-selection and risk-management services.
Private markets
Real estate
Real-estate investment management covering direct and indirect property exposure, diversified real-estate portfolios and specialized regional or sector strategies. The business serves institutional investors and other eligible clients seeking income, diversification and long-term exposure to property markets.
Private markets
Infrastructure and private markets
Private-market strategies providing access to infrastructure, private equity, private credit and related alternative investments. These offerings generally involve longer investment horizons, specialized due diligence and lower liquidity than public-market funds.
Brand decisions
2024
Change Asset Management leadershipStrategyBackground
UBS announced a leadership succession during the period in which the group was integrating Credit Suisse.
Action taken
Barry Gill was named to lead UBS Asset Management, succeeding Suni Harford.
Aftermath
The transition placed the asset-management integration and future growth strategy under new leadership.
2023
Integrate Credit Suisse Asset ManagementM&ABackground
UBS's acquisition of Credit Suisse created overlapping asset-management products, teams, legal entities, offices and technology systems.
Action taken
UBS began an integration program covering operating infrastructure, product rationalization, personnel, client servicing and distribution.
Aftermath
The combined business gained additional scale and capabilities, while integration remained a multi-year operational and strategic undertaking.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
UBS Asset Management acquires Datum Datacentres[6]
Reported:
UBS Asset Management Real Estate & Private Markets acquired a 100 percent stake in UK data center firm Datum Datacentres from Darwin Private Equity.
Alkion completes debt refinancing and raises a capex facility[7]
Alkion Terminals completed a sustainability-linked refinancing of its debt facilities totaling EUR 370 million, including a EUR 100 million capex and acquisition facility to support its 2022–2025 terminal growth program.
KraneShares announces UBS Asset Management as sub-advisor for China A Share fund[8]
Reported:
Krane Funds Advisors, identified as KraneShares, announced that it appointed UBS Asset Management as sub-advisor to launch the Krane-UBS China A Share Fund, making the strategy available to US investors in a mutual fund for the first time.
UBS Asset Management acquires stake in Texas wind farm portfolio[9]
Reported:
The real assets arm of UBS Asset Management acquired a 49.9% equity stake in Phoenix Wind Repower LLC, which holds a portfolio of three Texas wind farms, from Ares Management Infrastructure and Power.
Sources9 sources
- 1UBS Asset Managementubs.com
- 2UBS historyubs.com
- 3UBS completes acquisition of Credit Suisseubs.com
- 4UBS Asset Management leadership announcementubs.com
- 5Integrate Credit Suisse Asset Managementubs.com
- 6瑞银资产管理收购 Datum Datacentresdatacenterdynamics.com
- 7Alkion完成债务再融资并筹集资本支出贷款hellenicshippingnews.com
- 8KraneShares宣布由UBS资产管理担任中国A股基金副顾问prnewswire.com
- 9瑞银资产管理收购德州风电场组合股权funds-europe.com
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