UBS Group AG

Sergio Ermotti serves as Group CEO, with overall strategic direction. Investment decisions are decentralized across divisions: Iqbal Khan and Rob Karofsky are Co-Presidents of Global Wealth Management, and Aleksandar Ivanovic heads Asset Management. Each division maintains independent investment committees that allocate capital according to client mandates and risk parameters set by the group board, per the firm's 2023 governance disclosures.

UBS leverages its combined wealth management and investment banking platforms to surface direct co-investments, pre-IPO allocations, and private credit origination for its ultra-high-net-worth client base. The acquisition of Credit Suisse added significant private markets distribution capabilities, particularly in Asia-Pacific, where Credit Suisse had cultivated relationships with regional private banks and sovereign wealth funds. The firm's transaction sourcing is further amplified by its corporate advisory teams, who channel deal flow from institutionally originated M&A and sponsor-backed buyouts into private wealth portfolios.

UBS is a publicly traded, globally systemic universal bank — not a family office. It operates through a two-tier holding company structure with legal entities in Switzerland and the United States, supervised by FINMA, the Swiss National Bank, and the Federal Reserve. While it manages significant assets for individual families, it does so through a commercial wealth management framework governed by fiduciary obligations to depositors and shareholders, not as a dedicated single-family investment office.

UBS allocates across both primary fund commitments and direct co-investments, depending on the client segment. Its Asset Management division runs an institutional fund-of-funds program spanning private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and hedge fund strategies, committing over $100 billion to third-party GPs over the last decade. Simultaneously, Global Wealth Management clients access direct deal flow through UBS's private markets group, which syndicates individual company and asset-level investments sourced from the investment bank and external partners.

UBS acquired Credit Suisse in an emergency takeover brokered by Swiss authorities in March 2023, paying approximately CHF 3 billion in UBS shares. The legal merger was completed in May 2024, extinguishing Credit Suisse as an independent entity. All client assets, personnel, and platforms were absorbed into UBS divisions, with the Credit Suisse investment bank largely wound down or integrated into UBS's own restructured securities unit.

UBS actively facilitates co-investments for its private wealth and institutional clients, often participating alongside general partners with whom its Asset Management division has existing fund commitments. The co-investment program focuses on buyout, growth equity, and infrastructure deals in North America and Europe, typically syndicating positions of $50 million to $250 million. UBS generally does not lead rounds nor take board seats in these co-investments, maintaining a non-control, passive investor posture.

The $5.5 trillion in client assets derives overwhelmingly from external client deposits and advisory mandates, not proprietary balance sheet or family wealth. UBS is a publicly held commercial enterprise whose funding comes from global depositors, pension funds, and ultra-high-net-worth investors. The largest client concentration is in Switzerland and Western Europe, though Asia-Pacific and the Americas each contribute over $1 trillion in invested assets, per the firm's 2023 annual report.