UBS London wealth advisors lured by ex-Goldman Sachs guy

As we reported earlier this month, UBS appears to be leaking wealth advisors in London. It transpires that the leak may be slightly larger than we thought. UBS’s people are not just setting up their own firms and going to Lombard Odier, they are also joining Julius Baer.

Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.

In the past three months, at least three of UBS’s London wealth advisors have arrived at Julius Baer in the City – Matt Bonfield, Nick Williams and Josie Shaul. Bonfield spent nearly seven years at UBS, Williams spent eight and Shaul spent 11.

Three departures aren’t that significant in a population of hundreds of UK wealth advisors, but the three were relatively senior and follow the exits of Mark Goddard, the former head of the UK high net worth business and others. 

Julius Baer confirmed the arrival of Bonfield, Williams and Shaul. It’s understood that Julius Baer’s appeal lies in its willingness to pay wealth advisors a percentage of the assets they bring in, whereas UBS has been paying allegedly disappointing discretionary bonuses. This has not been confirmed, however. 

Julius Baer is now run Stefan Bollinger, the former head of EMEA wealth management at Goldman Sachs. It’s not clear whether Bollinger, who is known for his sporty footwear, was directly involved in their recruitment, but his distant presence may have been enough to turn heads. Bollinger is cutting CHF110m of costs at Julius Baer but it seemingly doesn't preclude hiring.

Sources at UBS say the bank has been making various changes in the UK, some of which have impacted regional offices in the Southwest and the Midlands. “A lot of the regional people have left,” says one source. “Everything is now being run out of London.” 

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libellous (in which case it won’t.)