UBS is streamlining its philanthropic efforts into one team to be led by a seven-year veteran of the bank. The move underscores the growing importance of gift-giving to the world's wealthy.

The Swiss-based bank is merging a unit devoted to offering advice on charitable donations under the leadership of Phyllis Costanza, according to a memo seen by finews.asia.

She is a seven-year veteran of UBS and runs its Optimus Foundation, which launched a successful «schoolgirl» bond linking returns with educational improvements in rural India. 

New Set-up

The most notable change is that several executives in UBS' arm for the ultra-wealthy will be tied into the bank's wider charitable efforts. 

«We are confident that the new set-up will enable us to support our clients even better in achieving measurable social impact through their philanthropic activities, while also generating enhanced business growth for UBS,» executives Hubertus Kuelps and Joe Stadler said in the memo.

Kuelps is the bank's communications guru and head of UBS in society. Stadler runs the banks's ultra-rich business around the world, a role he expanded to include the lucrative U.S. market in January. A UBS spokeswoman confirmed the contents of their memo.

Ultra-Rich Tie-In

The merger combines under Costanza a total of 45 employees devoted to finding ways for UBS' wealthy clientele to donate their money – a growing area of importance for private banks. The move follows UBS' merger of its two main private banking arms: a U.S.-based brokerage and a wider private bank.

It follows a split of UBS' financial and non-financial aspects of philanthropy undertaken two years ago. Then, UBS sought to build a new unit in the ultra-rich business as a center of competence for philanthropy where the ultra-rich were advised in matters of charity, art investing, and family and succession planning. Values-based investing was shifted to a product arm for the wealthy called Investment Products and Solutions, while impact investing landed with the private bank's investment chief.

Hedge Fund Ties

Under the new structure, Tom Hall, who is head of philanthropy in the U.K. and client development, will report to Costanza as well as to the head of client services in the ultra-wealthy arm, Michael Viana. The ultra-rich arm's regional heads of philanthropy – Eric Landolt in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Switzerland; Susan Sy in Asia; and Judy Spalthoff in the U.S. – will in turn begin reporting to Hall in addition.

Before joining UBS in 2011, Costanza worked with the charitable arm of hedge fund activist Chris Hohn and his now ex-wife, Jamie Cooper, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. UBS enlisted the CIFF as the issuer, or so-called «outcome payer», on the 2016 Indian «schoolgirl» bond.