Deals & People April 10, 2009

UBS To Let Go Lower Producers

UBS plans to lay off lower-producing financial advisers later this month, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Reported by

Ellie Behling

UBS’s brokerage business also plans to lay off support staff, according to the news report. Marten Hoekstra, head of UBS Wealth Management US, disclosed the plans during a conference call with employees, according to the news report.

Hoekstra told the financial advisers that it doesn’t mean the company is exiting the U.S. wealth-management business.

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Last month, UBS announced it would sell off up to 55 of its 406 U.S. wealth-management branches to Stifel Financial Corp. (see “Stifel Nicolaus to Acquire up to 55 Branches from UBS’). The WSJ said the move followed UBS looking unsuccessfully for buyers for its U.S. wealth-management business.

The WSJ noted that UBS has not participated in consolidation like its peers, including Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc’s Smith Barney, Bank of America Corp., and Merrill Lynch (see “Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Is Born’ and “Bank of America Buys Merrill Lynch’).