The second quarter so far hasn’t developed as UBS would have hoped for. The geopolitical uncertainties have made investors more cautious and they have also pulled out some of their assets for tax reasons.
UBS Chief Financial Officer Kirt Gardner flagged an increase in the outflow of assets at the global wealth management division, speaking at an investor conference in Frankfurt. The reason for the outflow was the U.S. tax reform, he said according to a report by news agency «AWP» (behind paywall).
«We see seasonal outflows in the second quarter due to tax reasons. We expect them to be higher this quarter,» said Gardner. U.S. customers are currently paying their tax bills.
Risk-Averse Clients
Gardner also said that the Swiss bank’s customers had become unsettled due to the turbulences on the markets and had become more risk averse. Transaction income would therefore be lower than if markets had developed better.
This was particularly the case for trading with stocks, as well as structured and alternative products. The income from these activities however contributed a good part of the transaction income of the bank.
