Tue, Mar 19, 2024
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
Industry Updates

UBP gains CH105m in profits in H1-2011, but assets still down as Swiss Franc continues ascent

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Guy de Picciotto
Opalesque Industry Update - Swiss private bank and asset manager Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) recently publicized profits of CHF105.4m ($125.2m) for the first half of 2011 (H1-2011) – compared to CHF103.3m in H1-2010.

As of 30th June 2011, assets totalled CHF60.7bn ($72.1bn) – compared to CHF65bn ($69bn) as the end of 2010. Assets were therefore down by 6.6%. They were mainly affected, says the bank, by negative exchange-rate effects.

At the end of 2010, UBP had CHF65bn in AuM compared to CHF75bn a year before that – again, due to negative exchange-rate effects.

Indeed, the Swiss Franc has been climbing steadily since 2008. According to Bloomberg, the Swiss franc appreciated 2.9% to a record 1.08467 per euro in London yesterday, the steepest intraday gain since Oct. 24, 2008. The currency rose against all of its 16 major peers, reaching all-time highs against the euro, dollar and pound.

UBP’s balance sheet total reached CHF15.3bn, and the annualised return on shareholder equity for H1-2011 was 12.8%. Conservative risk-management has allowed the bank to maintain a strong financial base and a Tier 1 capital ratio of 23.6%.

Guy de Picciotto, UBP's CEO, said that the bank, which employs around 1,200 people in various locations, focused on implementing its strategic plan in Asia and other growth markets, and on strengthening its private and institutional management and sales teams on the European markets during H1-2011.

The asset management branch of UBP, which runs funds of hedge funds, was one of the first to demand of its underlying managers to have independent administrators and custodians at the end of 2008 – after suffering from heavy redemption request levels that were spurred by the credit crisis. But its image suffered in the last couple of years: it had been an indirect investor in Bernard Madoff’s funds and was was asked to pay late last year around $500m to settle claims by Madoff’s trustee. Also, the bank was allegedly an investor in some of the funds that were probed by the FBI last year, which was investigating an insider trading ring.


See Opalesque’s video interview of Larry Morgenthal, CEO and CIO of Alternatives at UBP Asset Management here: Source
And corresponding article: Opalesque Exclusive: UBP had to take a hard line with underlying managers not willing to comply with better practice Source
B. Gravrand


Bg

What do you think?

   Use "anonymous" as my name    |   Alert me via email on new comments   |   
Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. KKR raises $6.4bn for the largest pan-Asia infrastructure fund[more]

    Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The New York-based global investment firm KKR has raised a record $6.4bn for its second Asia-focused infrastructure fund, underlining investors' continued appetite for private markets. According to a media release from the alternative assets manager, the figure top

  2. Bucking the trend, top hedge fund makes plans for a second SPAC[more]

    From Institutional Investor: SPACs aren't dead. At least not to the folks at Cormorant Asset Management. The life sciences firm, whose hedge fund topped its peers in 2023, is confident it will match the success of its first blank-check company. Last week, the life sciences and biopharma speciali

  3. Benefit Street Partners closes fifth fund on $4.7 billion[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: Benefit Street Partners has closed its fifth flagship direct lending vehicle, BSP Debt Fund V, with $4.7 billion of investable capital across the strategy. Benefit Street invests primarily in privately originated, floating rate, senior secured loans. The fun

  4. 4 hedge fund themes that are working in 2024[more]

    From The Street: A poor earnings report from Tesla (TSLA) has not hurt the indexes on Thursday. The decline in Tesla stock, which is losing its position in the Magnificent Seven pantheon, is more than offset by strong earnings from IBM (IBM) and ServiceNow (NOW) . In addition, the much higher-t

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: A global macro fund eyes opportunities in bonds[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York for New Managers: Munich-based ThirdYear Capital rebounded in 2023, following a tough year for global macro. The firm's flagship ART Global Macro strategy finished the year up 1