Soon after securing its private funds license, UBS' asset management unit now has plans to hire aggressively in China.
The Swiss bank's asset management arm currently has roughly 20 staff in China, and plans to increase that to more than 30 people on the ground by the end of the year, according to Rene Buehlmann, head of Asia Pacific at the asset manager.
Bloomberg reports that the firm plans to launch onshore products as soon as it can, but has not given a specific date.
Hiring Across the Board
«We are hiring around portfolio managers, analysts, obviously, distribution people and we will further enhance as we go along when clients come on board,» said Buehlmann, who has recently visited China monthly.
The hiring is part of a broader plan by UBS to double staff in China over five years, as outlined by its chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti in 2016.
The group plans to add about 600 people across wealth management, investment banking and asset management, Ermotti said in January last year.
China Goals
The Swiss firm's asset management unit was established in 2011 as wholly-owned foreign enterprise in Beijing to provide investment management and advisory services for alternative investment.
«Our goal is to be a leading asset manager in China for both onshore and offshore investors and a strong partner to Chinese clients investing overseas,» said Ulrich Koerner, the unit's head.
