UBS Asset Management

Investment decisions are overseen by President Suni Harford, who leads the division, and Chief Investment Officer Mark Haefele. The firm also maintains investment committees for each asset class — equities, fixed income, real estate, and alternatives — staffed by senior portfolio managers. Strategy is set centrally but executed across local teams in major financial hubs (per UBS, 2020).

The firm leverages UBS Group's global network of corporate and sovereign clients, investment banking relationships, and research platform to source private market deals. For infrastructure and real estate, it maintains direct origination teams in key markets. It also co-invests alongside institutional partners through vehicles like the UBS Global Infrastructure Fund (per UBS investor materials).

UBS Asset Management is neither — it is a regulated asset management division of a publicly traded bank. It operates as a multi-asset manager with a traditional institutional structure: separate portfolios for different mandates, a compliance framework under Swiss and UK regulations, and a fiduciary duty to third-party clients. It does not manage a single family's capital (per UBS annual report).

It does both. The firm commits capital to third-party funds (e.g., private equity and hedge fund of funds) and originates direct investments in infrastructure, real estate, and private equity via its own vehicles. Clients can access these through separate accounts or commingled vehicles. The firm also runs managed accounts for large institutions (per UBS alternatives marketing).

UBS Asset Management has formal ESG exclusion policies, including tobacco, controversial weapons, and thermal coal mining (per UBS sustainable investing framework). It also avoids direct investment in companies violating international norms. Exclusions vary by mandate — some institutional clients add further restrictions. The firm publishes a quarterly stewardship report detailing these policies (per UBS, 2025).

Both are divisions of UBS Group AG. Asset Management creates and manages investment strategies, while Global Wealth Management distributes them to high-net-worth clients. The wealth division sources capital from families and individuals, while Asset Management serves institutions. They share research and product platforms but operate with separate P&Ls and regulatory entities (per UBS Group structure).

The firm regularly co-invests alongside external general partners in infrastructure and private equity. It typically takes minority stakes in transactions where it has conviction, often with a long-hold horizon. Co-investments are usually sourced through existing GP relationships or via the bank's advisory network. Terms are negotiated per deal, with UBS typically seeking alignment on governance and exit strategy (per UBS alternative investments disclosures).