It's a brave new world for UBS. Or rather, a brave old world. The Swiss firm is going back to its roots, abandoning plans to become a major investment bank and focusing on wealth management.
"Investment banking will go back to what we saw in the 1990s, with the last 10 to 12 years an anomaly," Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said yesterday. The firm needs an investment bank that is "more focused, less complex, less capital intensive and consistently profitable," he said.
What that means, of course, are job cuts. The bank will exit businesses such as asset securitization, complex fixed-income structured products and some equity trading. UBS will eliminate 2,000 jobs in the investment bank by 2013, leaving total headcount at 16,500.
UBS will hone in on foreign exchange, commodities and mergers and acquisitions in the investment bank as supporting groups to its main focus on wealth management. For that division, the bank aims to have 4,700 client advisors by 2016, up from 2,252 now. Ermotti also said the U.S. wealth management unit is not for sale.
The main takeaways? If you want to do investment banking, look elsewhere. If you're keen on wealth management, the gates are open.
Companies are utilizing more high-tech methods in their searches for top talent, a new study finds. Firms are shifting recruitment budgets away from job boards and toward social media.
The British Commonwealth is sticking together. Australian bank Macquarie is hiring between 30 and 60 advisors for its private wealth management operations in Canada over the next year.
Northern Descent (Bloomberg Businessweek)
While American banks reconsider their retail network strategy, Canadian TD Bank is on a expansion spree. It will create 1,600 jobs in South Carolina over the next five years.
BofA's Brian Moynihan is still lining up his ducks. He recently appointed Thong Nguyen to be his strategy chief to replace Mike Lyons. Moynihan has swapped chief operating officers, chief financial officers, chief risk officers and a new legal chief just this year. When will his new army be complete?
Starting from Scratch (Mergers & Inquisitions)
Sick of answering to an MD who doesn't know what he's talking about? You may be tempted to jump ship and start your own hedge fund. Make sure you have plenty of capital. Oh, and a strategy.
Can't get a job in finance? If you've got a Ph.D., you may want to consider moonlighting as a professor for a few years. Business schools are desperately seeking qualified instructors.
More and more millenials are moving home after graduation. While it saves them money, it's also having an unforeseen effect: depressing an economy that would have benefited from their spending.
Buzz Around the Office
Super Chef! (YouTube)
A sneak peek of Jason Schwartzman on Sesame Street.
List of the Day: Public Speaking
You could be the greatest writer since Shakespeare but if you can't speak in front of people, your client presentations will be a bust. Try these tricks.
1. Plant friendly faces in the audience to give you courage.
2. Practice, practice, practice beforehand.
3. Pretend the speech is a conversation.
(Source: MoneyWatch)
- Bull/Bear Report - Hirings, firings, rising stars and downward spiral of the finance job market
- Get the job: From writing resumes to negotiating the offer, all the tools to land the perfect finance job
- Morning Coffee: Sign up for the latest in finance career news
- FINS.com: Finance jobs, research and career news by FINS from The Wall Street Journal