This Strategic Insight Report assesses the issue of organizational scale in the private wealth management market. It looks at the forces behind the emergence of large scale international private banks and compares and contrasts the strategic development of five of the world's largest players. It profiles the key players and discusses their current strategies and progress.

Report Highlights

Political and economic liberalization means that the markets available for entry at present is larger than ever before, forcing the top tier of wealth managers to expand to maintain their global status. Rapid development of the BRIC economies, creating a significant class of wealthy individuals, makes these markets highly attractive.

UBS Wealth Management continues to be the clear leader among global wealth managers in terms of assets under management, with over double the AuM of its nearest rival, Credit Suisse Private Banking. With EUR880.8bn under management, UBS WM alone holds 34% of the total value of assets under management for the entire top ten in the super league.

Some of the top players in the wealth management super league are undergoing or have recently experienced major changes in their organization, either as part of wider transformations of the parent bank or in the private banking unit. In some ways, significant overhauls that affect the private bank can be beneficial but also present challenges.