UBS

UBS Asset Management has spent the past few years integrating Credit Suisse Asset Management following UBS’ government-brokered acquisition of the firm in March 2023. The forced nature and scale of the transaction required significant management attention and operational effort, given the complexity of merging these two global franchises. As of early 2026, the firm has moved beyond the highest-risk phase, with the bulk of the integration work now complete.

We draw comfort from UBS Asset Management’s relatively strong operating footing, shaped by a multiyear strategic transformation that began more than a decade ago. More recently, UBS AM has become clearer about where it sees its competitive advantages. The firm is increasingly focused on scale, efficiency, and distribution rather than broad active investment differentiation, prioritizing scalable areas such as indexing and ETFs, separately managed accounts, and third-party alternatives delivered through its Unified Global Alternatives platform. The acquisition added complementary strengths, most notably in specialist credit strategies, and increased scale in passives, while overlap across the two businesses has driven consolidation of the product lineup.

Despite ongoing rationalization, UBS Asset Management continues to offer a broad range of active and passive strategies across traditional and alternative asset classes. Overall outcomes are solid, though supported by the large and growing share of passive assets, which now account for roughly half of total assets. Results across active strategies remain more mixed, notwithstanding selected areas of competence. The appointment of a new co-head of investments from July 2026 is intended to strengthen investment decision-making and improve the competitiveness of the active platform. Incentives for portfolio managers are broadly in line with industry practice, with bonuses linked to performance over periods of up to three years; this does not stand out and limits longer-term alignment.

The combined organization is now settling into a more normalized phase after the integration, which is reassuring. However, investment staff turnover, driven by the deliberate removal of duplicate roles following the acquisition, exits from noncore businesses, and ongoing platform redesign, as well as uneven active outcomes, remain key watch points. These factors support the retention of an Average Parent rating as we monitor how effectively the firm translates its priorities into consistent outcomes for investors.

Note: This share class' Parent Pillar rating is analyst-driven, as its Branding Name, UBS (Branding Name ID: BN00000A8I), is covered by Morningstar Manager Research.