As dramatic as the past month may have been, Iqbal Khan's life is set to get even more interesting. The ex-Credit Suisse star banker officially moves down the street to UBS this Tuesday. finews.asia's editor-at-large Shruti Advani on what it will take for him to survive.
Reminiscent of Boris Collardi’s shock resignation from Julius Baer and his subsequent appointment as a partner at Pictet or Andrea Orcel’s almost-CEO debacle at Santander after a high-powered career at UBS: Iqbal Khan (pictured below) is enduring an unprecedented level of attention, even before his first day as co-head of wealth management at UBS.
What it will take for him to survive the snakes-and-ladders game that is life at the world’s largest wealth manager? Some practical advice from finews.asia's editor-at-large Shruti Advani.
Dear Iqbal,
This Is Yours To Lose
It may be slightly less exhilarating to start life at UBS as a co-head than it would have been had you been anointed king of wealth management. However, do not doubt for a second that you have in fact, been handed the keys to the kingdom. It would be a mistake to see this as a competition between you and co-head Tom Naratil (pictured below).
No one expects the head of its Americas business to overtake you as CEO of what is still very much a Swiss bank. He has his hands full minding his own business, as it were – the 5 percent fall in UBS’ assets last year is being attributed to the $4.1 billion outflow in assets from the Americas.
Not much has changed in 2019: revenue fell on the year in the second quarter, and the American business continued to bleed assets. Despite increasing hires last year, the bank lost over 250 advisors year-on-year – nearly all of them were from Naratil’s business.
The race may be long, but in the end, it is only with yourself. This is yours to lose.
Ermotti is God... Until He Isn’t
Heady as it is, do not let the fanfare surrounding your arrival at UBS become the reason for your departure from the bank. You are, without a doubt, Swiss banking’s wunderkind. This is a blessing as well as a curse – for you as well as for the man who must manage you: CEO Sergio Ermotti (pictured below).
If anyone is skilled enough to strike a balance between shining bright but not enough to blind, you are. Remember the CEO who claimed a parking spot from the chairman of the board for his Ferrari? He wasn’t CEO for long, at least not at that particular bank.
When you get tempted to question Ermotti’s pet projects or (heaven forbid) to buy the house next to his, take inspiration from our very own Prince Charles who is surely the longest-serving CEO-in waiting in history.
Handle Asia With Care
As frustrated as you reportedly were to be locked out of any meaningful conversation about Asia at Credit Suisse, being handed oversight of the region at UBS will not be without its challenges.
With $357 billion in assets, UBS' franchise is the undisputed market leader in the region. Thus, clock up the air miles and make frequent visits to congratulate the formidable leadership team there under Edmund Koh (pictured below) on the wonderful job they have done. Let them see how well-deserved your reputation for eloquence and poise is: speak at every client event and internal townhall that your schedule will allow for.
But do no more than that. In particular, do not add hire any more teams or open new offices. Cutting costs in Asia – whether through job cuts or dialing back certain regional strategies – needs to be a priority. This is true for almost all of the region’s large international private banks but it is especially true for UBS which can afford to sit out the next few rounds of turbulence without much fear of losing its pole position.
It is often trickier to stop a heavy object in motion than it is to get it moving in the first place, but you may well have to risk annoying your Asian peers if you want to please your global bosses.
After all, nothing ventured is often nothing gained.
Best,
Shruti
