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UBS
The bank does well in precisely those areas – Delta 1 , swaps and financing and risk management – where its traditional strengths and consistent ambitions lie : in delivering risk-based securities financing and customised swap financing . These findings are reinforced by a handsome score for sales and marketing , where clients reassure UBS it charges sums they believe to be fair and puts the right value on the assets they hold . The only vulnerabilities , discernible in the detailed scores , lie in the client appetite for greater economies through netting and cross-product margining – and these are fields where managers always believe every investment bank can do more . The scoring of OTC clearing services , where UBS is a major force , is affected by the same considerations . Stock borrowing and lending , on the other hand , remain acknowledged strengths of the bank . “ Best stock borrow and lending team we deal with globally ,” writes a client . It is a predictable strength , given that the bank has access to in-house inventory from its wealth management arm as well as an extensive global network of sources of supply . The detailed scores confirm that clients believe there is enough depth to protect them from unhelpful recalls , even if they are not so confident about the ability of UBS to secure hard-to-borrows . Unusually , UBS also beats the benchmark for capital introductions . This almost certainly reflects the degree of collaboration between the investment bank and the private bank , and the distribution power of UBS networks in the wider private banking and funds of funds and family office industries . One member of the capital introductions team is name-checked as “ one of the best CI guys around ,” while his colleagues are described as “ top tier .” Inevitably , there is at least one manager who is disappointed . “ Quality of introductions is lacking ,” he writes . “ Generally , only hear from them when we reach out .” But a fourth respondent says UBS has a “ top-notch team globally ” that “ always provides us with timely information and introductions .” The same cannot be said of the consulting team . The scores for fixed income and foreign exchange are not much better , which is curious , given that prime services is a gateway into fixed income and foreign exchange platforms of formidable size and reputation . The operations score is equally puzzling for a bank with an in-house custody arm that clears and settles cash and securities in dozens of markets around the world on behalf of the private as well as the investment bank . But the assessment of client service is more worrying . Although one client has encountered nothing but “ great client and PB Services ,” the average score suggests the client service model is not working . Staff turnover , an issue in 2017 , is not mentioned this year . UBS will be even more disappointed by the outcome in technology . UBS Neo , the new investment banking platform designed to bring together research , prices , financing , execution and settlement capabilities across all asset classes , is noticed by some clients but clearly not all . “ Great portal , one of the best in the industry ,” enthuses one respondent . A second agrees Neo is “ best in class .” A third contributor is more thoughtful . “ Neo online portal is very useful , with reports that are updated / generated live ( vs . other PB portals that only has T + 1 reports shown on the portal ),” he writes .
“ However , timing of some T + 1 reports can take a bit of time to generate ( mid afternoon ).” Unfairly , the bank earns insufficient reward for building the apps that allow clients to access Neo on the move .
39 %
By size
15 %
46 %
Weighted average scores
PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
Large Medium Small
Weighted average scores by service area Service area
36 %
By location
17 %
2016 2017 2018 5.56 5.61 5.45
Weighted average score
Capital introductions 5.49 2.3 %
47 %
Americas Europe and Middle East Asia
+/ - the global average
Client service 5.20 -13.5 % Consulting 5.19 -11.4 % Operations 5.00 -16.1 % Technology 5.45 -2.7 % Product development 5.13 -6.0 % Risk management 5.63 1.1 % Asset safety 5.53 -3.6 % Sales and marketing 6.13 -0.1 % Trading and execution 5.55 -5.2 % Delta 1 , swaps and financing 5.68 -0.7 % Stock borrowing and lending 5.56 -6.8 % Foreign exchange prime brokerage 4.69 -17.3 % Fixed income 4.85 -16.0 % OTC clearing 4.97 -15.1 % Listed derivatives 5.58 -5.3 % Total 5.45 -6.0 %
The Hedge Fund Annual 2018 globalcustodian . com 91