UBS

Aleksandar Ivanovic serves as President of UBS Asset Management, reporting to Group CEO Sergio Ermotti. Investment decisions are made by portfolio managers within each multi-boutique unit — O'Connor for credit and hedge-fund strategies, Real Estate & Private Markets for direct property and infrastructure, and Solutions for multi-asset mandates. The structure is deliberately decentralized, with each platform maintaining its own investment committee while operating under the firm-wide risk framework set by the Chief Investment Office.

UBS Asset Management is a division within UBS Group AG, distinct from the Global Wealth Management and Investment Bank divisions. It manages third-party institutional and wholesale capital alongside assets channeled from the private-wealth network. As of year-end 2024, it oversaw more than $1.6 trillion in invested assets, making it one of the largest institutional managers in Europe. Unlike a standalone asset manager, it benefits from the bank's balance sheet, capital-markets access, and client referrals across the ultra-high-net-worth and sovereign-wealth segments.

UBS commits to external private-equity, private-credit, real-estate, infrastructure, and hedge funds through its Solutions and O'Connor units, and also pursues direct co-investments alongside those managers. The firm runs one of the world's largest hedge-fund seeding and advisory platforms, providing start-up capital to emerging managers. These direct and fund-level commitments can be accessed by external institutional clients via UBS's commingled programs or bespoke managed accounts.

The private-markets platform targets buyout, growth, and secondaries strategies, with particular emphasis on co-investments alongside established GPs rather than early-stage venture. In real estate and infrastructure, the focus is on core and core-plus assets in developed markets, while private credit spans direct lending, special situations, and distressed opportunities. The firm's hedge-fund allocations cover the full spectrum, from long/short equity to relative value and discretionary macro.

UBS has a stated exclusions framework that screens certain defense-contracting activities and companies deriving material revenue from thermal coal. Swiss law prohibits direct investment in entities linked to extreme controversy weapons. In practice, the firm is sector-agnostic for the majority of its alternatives mandates, but sustainable-investment funds avoid fossil-fuel producers and other exclusions. Details are published annually in the Group's Sustainability Report.

The two divisions are distinct profit centers, but the private-wealth network serves as a significant distribution channel for UBS Asset Management products, including alternatives. Ultra-high-net-worth clients and family offices often access private-market co-investments and hedge-fund offerings structured by the asset-management arm. This vertical integration — from in-house investment manufacturing to captive distribution — is a structural advantage versus non-bank asset managers.

UBS acts as both a co-investor and, increasingly, a co-underwriter of private-market transactions. The private-equity team co-invests alongside GPs where UBS has an existing fund commitment, and the O'Connor credit platform directly originates deals where it can take lead-underwriter roles. Minimum co-investment ticket sizes typically start in the range of $25–50 million, though separately managed accounts for sovereign and pension clients may write larger checks.