Country Head René Mottas and Head Asset Servicing Hermann Kranz say UBS Luxembourg is focusing on further growth by developing innovative solutions to meet the needs of sophisticated clients. Having doubled assets over the past five years, UBS Luxembourg has embarked on a strategic shift by handing its fund accounting and bookkeeping activities to Northern Trust.

 

What was the rationale behind your transaction with Northern Trust?

Hermann Kranz (HK): We sold our fund accounting and bookkeeping business to Northern Trust with whom we are entering into a business partnership. Our clients will henceforth obtain this specialised piece of the value chain via Northern Trust. To make an analogy with the car industry, it is as if we had sold a business producing airbags in order to focus on assembling the car as a whole. In all other parts of the fund value chain we have a long tradition of expertise and excellence.

 

René Mottas (RM): I am excited because this mutually beneficial business partnership enables us to focus on continuing our growth. The past five years have been very successful allowing us to significantly increase our Assets under Management. Our goals clearly are to further strengthen our Asset Servicing offering to meet our clients' demands by developing new solutions and enhancing our reporting capabilities. This in adherence with the growing range of regulatory requirements the industry is confronted with.

 

 “After five successful years, we are eager to tap the vast potential the market offers to ultimately satisfy our sophisticated clients.”

René Mottas, Country Head, UBS Luxembourg

 

 

Who are the clients of your Luxembourg business?

RM: We have two types of clients. Our Wealth Management unit serves individuals with assets starting at €5 million who are willing to benefit from our private wealth DNA, in terms of both service and technology. The bank has, for example, developed systems that check portfolios daily to ensure they remain in line with the client’s investment profile and risk parameters. Our Asset Servicing team develops customised solutions for families, ultra-high net worth individuals, family offices and financial intermediaries with at least €50 million in investible/bankable assets. We have unmatched expertise in creating sophisticated solutions.

 

HK: We are the architects for our clients’ strategies. For example, they may want to create a fund, choose the portfolio manager, hand-over control functions to specialised Management Companies and receive practically real-time transaction reporting. We can provide this service only out of Luxembourg, where the product toolbox and ecosystem of specialists is second to none.

 

How do you see your business evolving over the next five years?

RM: We intend to remain extremely focused. Our Wealth Management business is concentrating on clients from the European Economic Area (EEA), with our growth ambitions mainly on the Benelux and Nordic countries. On the Asset Servicing side, we serve clients based in the EEA and some specific emerging markets. We continuously expand our range of product capabilities – for example, we plan to launch an art fund.

 

HK: A generational transition is underway. The average age of our clients is dropping and there is a strong demand for customised services and cutting-edge technology. Luxembourg is the ideal jurisdiction for clients domiciled in the EU, so we remain very optimistic about the Grand Duchy’s future and the development of UBS in Luxembourg.

 

René Mottas and Hermann Kranz (UBS Luxembourg): Growth made in Luxembourg

 

Country Head René Mottas and Head Asset Servicing Hermann Kranz say UBS Luxembourg is focusing on further growth by developing innovative solutions to meet the needs of sophisticated clients. Having doubled assets over the past five years, UBS Luxembourg has embarked on a strategic shift by handing its fund accounting and bookkeeping activities to Northern Trust.