REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Swiss bank UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti addresses a news conference to present the company's results of the first quarter in Zurich May 6, 2014.
- UBS is reportedly considering acquisitions and joint-ventures to bolster its $800 billion asset management business.
- The Swiss lender is trying to keep pace with larger rivals like BlackRock, Vanguard, and Fidelity that can undercut them on fees.
UBS is considering acquisitions and joint-ventures to bolster its $800 billion asset management business and stay competitive with larger, fee-cutting US rivals.
Top executives at the Swiss lender, which has been gun-shy toward growing via M&A, feel the company needs to ramp up its scale to compete on a global level and may eye specialized or retail-focused US and UK asset managers for buyout, according to a report from Bloomberg.
UBS is unlikely to go after a single large acquisition, the executives told Bloomberg.
Read more: UBS cuts at least 100 jobs in asset management arm
The firm's $800 billion business is hefty by European standards, but like other large players on the continent, the firm is struggling to compete internationally with US asset management behemoths like BlackRock, Vanguard, and Fidelity that are several times larger, with trillions in AUM.