Who are UBS (US)'s competitors, and what are the alternatives?
UBS's US businesses file no 10-K; UBS Group's 2025 annual report on Form 20-F, filed March 9, 2026, names its wealth competitors in two groups: firms strong in the Americas with more limited global footprints, 'such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, as well as some smaller firms, such as Raymond James', and international firms with a smaller US presence than UBS, such as Julius Baer, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and HSBC, plus fintech firms in some regions and products. The US is UBS's largest wealth region; it serves about 700,000 US households with 5,772 advisors in the Americas, and UBS Bank USA became a national bank in March 2026 to bring back about $150 billion of client deposits held at other banks. The sharpest competition is for advisors: Diamond Consultants counted a net loss of 182 UBS advisors in the first half of 2026, with Raymond James, Rockefeller and RBC Wealth the biggest beneficiaries of wirehouse moves, while Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley added advisors. In investment banking the 20-F names Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan. The non-bank rivals are brokerages and fintechs: Schwab took in $120 billion of core net new assets in Q2 2026, and Robinhood sells digital wealth management with an AI assistant, Cortex.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Data as of Oct 19, 2026 · UBS profile updated Oct 13, 2026 · computed tables recalculate from the 140 bank profiles on this site · Markdown
What does UBS say about its competition?
From UBS Group's Annual Report 2025 (Form 20-F), Global Wealth Management: "Our main competitors fall into two categories: competitors with a strong position in the Americas but with more limited global footprints, such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, as well as some smaller firms, such as Raymond James; and competitors with international footprints but with a smaller presence than UBS in the US, such as Julius Baer, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and HSBC. We also compete with fintech firms in some regions and products. We have strong positions across all key regions, including the largest wealth region (the US) and the fastest-growing wealth regions (Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America), as well as the more mature markets in Europe, including Switzerland."[1]
Investment Bank: "Competing firms operate in many of our markets, but our strategy differentiates us, with our focus on selective leadership in the areas where we have chosen to compete and a business model that leverages talent and technology rather than balance sheet. Our main competitors are major global investment banks, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. In certain products and regions, we also compete with boutique investment banks and fintech firms."[1]
New competitors: "Our competitive environment is evolving. In addition to traditional competitors in the asset-gathering businesses, new entrants are targeting selected parts of the value chain, taking advantage of modern technologies without legacy limitations and a lighter regulatory burden to challenge traditional banks' operating models. ... Over the long term, we believe emerging and established technology companies may also pose a threat to financial services firms, given their strong client franchises and access to client data, if they decide to broaden the scope of their services." (UBS Group AG Annual Report 2025, filed on Form 20-F on March 9, 2026.)[1]
Who competes with UBS in each of its businesses?
| Business line | Competitor | Type | Why it competes |
|---|---|---|---|
| US wealth management and advisors | Morgan Stanley | Broker or asset manager | Named first among UBS's wealth competitors in its 20-F; Morgan Stanley reports $7.35 trillion of wealth client assets and gained a net 23 advisors in the first half of 2026 while UBS lost 182.[1][8][5] |
| US wealth management and advisors | Bank of America (Merrill) | Bank | Named in UBS's 20-F; Merrill is one of the four wirehouses in Diamond Consultants' transition data, with a net loss of 404 advisors in the first half of 2026.[1][5] |
| US wealth management and advisors | Wells Fargo | Bank | Named in UBS's 20-F; Diamond Consultants calls Wells Fargo the biggest winner of the first half of 2026, with a net gain of 46 advisors and the only wirehouse route from employee to independent affiliation.[1][5] |
| US wealth management and advisors | Raymond James | Broker or asset manager | Named in UBS's 20-F as a smaller US competitor; InvestmentNews reported a multigenerational UBS advisor team moving to Raymond James in January 2026, and Diamond lists it among the biggest beneficiaries of wirehouse moves.[1][9][5] |
| US wealth management and advisors | RBC Wealth Management | Broker or asset manager | InvestmentNews describes RBC Wealth Management as something of a destination of choice for departing UBS advisors (January 2026); RBC's US private client group has more than 2,200 financial advisors.[9][5][10] |
| US wealth management and advisors | JPMorgan Chase | Bank | Named in UBS's 20-F; Diamond Consultants reports that more than 100 Merrill advisors went to J.P. Morgan in the first half of 2026.[1][5] |
| Banking for wealth clients (UBS Bank USA) | Charles Schwab | Broker or asset manager | A brokerage with its own bank: Schwab's bank loans reached $67.0 billion at June 30, 2026 and it took in $120 billion of core net new assets in Q2 2026; UBS converted UBS Bank USA to a national bank in March 2026 to keep more client deposits in house.[6][4][2] |
| Banking for wealth clients (UBS Bank USA) | Raymond James Bank | Bank | Raymond James reported record net bank loans of $54.8 billion (April 2026), lending to the same wealth clients UBS Bank USA serves; UBS says about $150 billion of its US clients' deposits sit at other banks.[11][2] |
| Banking for wealth clients (UBS Bank USA) | Fintech firms | Fintech | UBS's 20-F says it competes with fintech firms in some regions and products, and that new entrants use modern technology without legacy limitations and with a lighter regulatory burden.[1] |
| Investment banking and capital markets | Goldman Sachs | Bank | Named among UBS's main investment-banking competitors in its 20-F; Goldman reported $20.3 billion of revenue in Q2 2026, up 39% on an AI-driven markets boom.[1][12] |
| Investment banking and capital markets | Citigroup | Bank | Named among UBS's main investment-banking competitors in its 20-F.[1] |
| Investment banking and capital markets | Barclays | Bank | Named among UBS's main investment-banking competitors in its 20-F.[1] |
| Investment banking and capital markets | Deutsche Bank | Bank | Named in UBS's 20-F both as an international wealth competitor with a smaller US presence and as a main investment-banking competitor.[1] |
| Digital investing and self-directed wealth | Robinhood | Fintech | Robinhood launched Robinhood Strategies, a digital wealth-management service, alongside Cortex in March 2025, and in June 2026 announced Cortex for Advisors for RIAs on TradePMR, reaching into the advisor market UBS serves.[7][13] |
| Digital investing and self-directed wealth | Established technology companies | Big tech | UBS's 20-F says emerging and established technology companies may pose a long-term threat to financial firms, given their client franchises and access to client data, if they broaden their services.[1] |
How do the AI and digital offerings of UBS's competitors compare?
UBS first, then each competitor. Use-case counts, index scores and latest moves are computed from our profiles of each company; "No profile" means this site has no page on it yet.
| Company | AI or digital offering | On the record (our profiles) | Latest dated AI move |
|---|---|---|---|
| UBS (US) (this page) | UBS Claves, the Chief AI Office and the 'Big Rocks'[14][15][16] | Index 75.3 (#31); 14 use cases, 10 in production | Ermotti at the Bank of America conference (Sep 22, 2026)[17] |
| Morgan Stanley | AI @ Morgan Stanley Assistant and Debrief; 98% of advisor teams use the Assistant[18] | Index 69.7 (#34); 14 use cases, 9 in production | OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Financial Services, shaped with Morgan Stanley and Evercore (Sep 10, 2026)[19][20] |
| Bank of America (Merrill) | Erica and EricaAssist; about 140 AI applications generating $800 million of benefit[21][22] | Index 97.3 (#1); 18 use cases, 16 in production | Treasury, FinCEN and OCC impose $1.21 billion in AML and sanctions penalties (Oct 13, 2026)[23][24][25] |
| Wells Fargo | Advisor Gateway with more than 200 tools; more than $1 billion invested in the wealth platform[26] | Index 88.8 (#7); 16 use cases, 13 in production | Q3 2026 call: AI agents in code, marketing, cyber, underwriting (Oct 13, 2026)[27][28] |
| Raymond James | Rai assistant: 6,500 users at 99.5% satisfaction[29] | Index 84.5 (#12); 16 use cases, 14 in production | Meta's Muse reignites the AI selloff (Sep 22, 2026)[30] |
| RBC Wealth Management | Lumina, ATOM and RBC Assist[31][32][33][34][35] | 15 use cases, 11 in production | OSFI semi-annual risk outlook centres on frontier AI (Oct 8, 2026)[36] |
| JPMorgan Chase | LLM Suite: 150,000 weekly users[37] | Index 89 (#6); 15 use cases, 8 in production | Q3 2026 call: outside AI agents stay blocked; AI spend put near $700 million (Oct 13, 2026)[38][39][40] |
| Charles Schwab | Portfolio Insights and an AI Service Assistant transcribing about 60,000 live interactions a day[41][42] | Index 80.7 (#19); 19 use cases, 15 in production | How Charley was built: employee testing, confirmation before any change (Oct 8, 2026)[43] |
| Raymond James Bank | Rai, AI Search and the advisor desktop[44][45][46] | Index 84.5 (#12); 16 use cases, 14 in production | Meta's Muse reignites the AI selloff (Sep 22, 2026)[30] |
| Fintech firms | Not disclosed | No profile | Not disclosed |
| Goldman Sachs | GS AI Assistant for all 46,000 employees[47] | Index 79.9 (#22); 13 use cases, 7 in production | Q3 2026 call: Solomon sets out AI guardrails and compute-supply risk (Oct 13, 2026)[48][49] |
| Citigroup | 80%+ of colleagues using AI tools; 10,000+ engineers on advanced or agentic AI[50] | Index 94.9 (#2); 20 use cases, 15 in production | Payments chief: no AI model to authorise payments (Oct 1, 2026)[51] |
| Barclays | Group AI stack: Microsoft 365 Copilot, Claude and BARXBot[52][53][54][55][56] | 20 use cases, 13 in production | Co-COO on model choice and agentic AI (Oct 1, 2026)[57] |
| Deutsche Bank | Investment Bank technology spend of more than €1.0 billion for 2025-2028[58] | Index 77.4 (#24); 14 use cases, 9 in production | Farsight announces on-premise deployment in Europe and North America (Oct 13, 2026)[59] |
| Robinhood | Cortex AI investing assistant; Digests used by nearly 1 million customers (April 2026)[60] | 8 use cases, 3 in production | Robinhood Agents, weekend trading and perpetual futures unveiled at HOOD Summit (Sep 29, 2026)[61][62] |
| Established technology companies | Not disclosed | No profile | Not disclosed |
Who should look beyond UBS, and where?
| If you are | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Advisors and clients who want the firm adding advisors rather than losing them | Morgan Stanley or Wells Fargo | Diamond Consultants counted a net loss of 182 UBS advisors in the first half of 2026, while Wells Fargo gained 46 and Morgan Stanley 23; Diamond calls Morgan Stanley the steadiest wirehouse for several years.[5] |
| Advisors who want an employee model at a firm with a large disclosed technology budget | Raymond James | Raymond James spends more than $1.1 billion a year on technology and counts 6,500 users of its Rai assistant, and Diamond Consultants names it among the biggest beneficiaries of advisors leaving wirehouses for W-2 roles in 2026.[63][29][5] |
| Investors who want a self-directed account with an AI assistant | Charles Schwab or Robinhood | UBS's US model is advisor-led. Schwab offers Portfolio Insights and says about 70% of retail clients want AI paired with human expertise; Robinhood's Cortex Digests had nearly 1 million users by April 2026.[16][41][60] |
| Clients who want a full branch bank alongside their wealth advisor | Bank of America (Merrill) or JPMorgan Chase | UBS Bank USA became a national bank in March 2026 to serve UBS wealth clients and is moving toward full-service banking for affluent clients (July 2026). Bank of America runs 3,500 financial centers and Chase reported 5,083 branches in 2025.[4][64][65][66] |
Is UBS gaining or losing advisors against its rivals?
Net experienced-advisor movement at the four wirehouses in the first half of 2026, from Diamond Consultants' Advisor Transition Report as reported by WealthManagement.com. Internal Wells Fargo channel moves are excluded.
| Firm | Net advisor change, H1 2026 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Merrill (Bank of America) | -404 | More than 100 went to J.P. Morgan, likely bank-channel advisors[5] |
| UBS | -182 | The 'clear loser' because it has the smallest base; Diamond cites culture, ease of doing business and an outdated platform[5] |
| Wells Fargo | +46 | Called this year's biggest winner[5] |
| Morgan Stanley | +23 | The steadiest performer for several years[5] |
| All four wirehouses | -517 (1,449 left, 932 joined) | Raymond James, Rockefeller and RBC Wealth the biggest beneficiaries of W-2 moves[5] |
How big is UBS's US wealth business next to its rivals?
Scale figures as each firm reports them, with the date. Measures differ by firm.
| Firm | Scale disclosed | As of |
|---|---|---|
| UBS (US) | About 700,000 US households; 5,772 advisors in the Americas; about $150 billion of client deposits at other banks | December 2025; March 2026[2][3] |
| Morgan Stanley | $7.35 trillion of wealth client assets | June 2026[8] |
| Raymond James | $1.92 trillion of total client assets; $1.86 trillion in the Private Client Group | July 2026[67][68] |
| RBC (US Wealth Management) | More than 2,200 financial advisors in the private client group | December 2025[10] |
| Charles Schwab | $517.3 billion of total assets; $120 billion of core net new assets in Q2 2026 | June and July 2026[69][6] |
Who are UBS's biggest competitors in the US?
UBS's own 20-F names Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America (Merrill), Wells Fargo and Raymond James in US wealth, international firms such as Deutsche Bank and HSBC, and fintech firms. In investment banking it names Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan.[1]
Is UBS losing advisors to competitors?
Yes, on the latest count. Diamond Consultants recorded a net loss of 182 UBS advisors in the first half of 2026, against gains at Wells Fargo (+46) and Morgan Stanley (+23). InvestmentNews reported UBS teams moving to RBC and Raymond James in January 2026, describing RBC as something of a destination of choice.[5][9]
UBS vs Morgan Stanley: which is bigger in US wealth?
Morgan Stanley, by its disclosures: $7.35 trillion of wealth client assets. UBS serves about 700,000 US households with 5,772 advisors in the Americas. On AI, Morgan Stanley says 98% of advisor teams use its AI Assistant; UBS says nearly 90% use its flagship AI platform.[8][2][3][18][70]
Why did UBS get a US national bank charter?
To build out banking for its US wealth clients. The OCC approved UBS Bank USA's conversion to a national bank in March 2026, and UBS says about $150 billion of its US clients' deposits sit at other banks. Schwab and Raymond James already run large banks alongside their brokerages, with $67.0 billion and $54.8 billion of bank loans.[4][71][2][6][11]
Is Robinhood a competitor of UBS?
In digital and self-directed wealth, by category: UBS's 20-F says it competes with fintech firms in some products, and Robinhood sells Robinhood Strategies digital wealth management, an AI assistant called Cortex and, from June 2026, Cortex for Advisors for RIAs on TradePMR. Neither names the other.[1][7][13]
What are alternatives to UBS for wealth management?
The firms UBS names: Morgan Stanley, Merrill, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan and Raymond James; plus RBC Wealth Management, which InvestmentNews calls a destination of choice for departing UBS advisors, and Schwab or Robinhood for self-directed investors who want AI tools.[1][9][41][60]
Does UBS compete with Goldman Sachs?
Yes, in investment banking, where UBS's 20-F lists Goldman Sachs among its main competitors. Goldman reported $20.3 billion of Q2 2026 revenue, up 39%, and gives all 46,000 employees its GS AI Assistant; UBS invested in Finster AI in August 2026 for AI-native investment-banking research.[1][12][47][72]
UBS vs Raymond James: how do they compare on AI and technology?
Raymond James scores 84.5 on this site's disclosure index against UBS US's 75.3. It spends more than $1.1 billion a year on technology and counts 6,500 users of its Rai assistant at 99.5% satisfaction. UBS reports group-level scale, 560 live AI use cases, and STAAT insights for its US advisors.[63][29][73][1]
Does UBS compete with HSBC and Deutsche Bank in the US?
Yes. UBS's 20-F names Deutsche Bank and HSBC, with Julius Baer and BNP Paribas, as international wealth competitors with a smaller US presence than UBS, and Deutsche Bank again as an investment-banking competitor. HSBC USA targets globally connected affluent and high-net-worth clients from 21 US wealth centers.[1][74]
- UBS Group AG Annual Report 2025 on Form 20-F
- UBS fights for US wealth turnaround as it secures national bank license
- UBS promotes from within to name new advisor head
- UBS secures US bank licence in boost for wealth management plans
- Wirehouses Lost 517 Advisors in First Half of 2026 (Diamond Consultants Advisor Transition Report)
- Schwab Reports Record Quarterly Revenue and Earnings
- Introducing Robinhood Strategies, Robinhood Banking, and Robinhood Cortex
- Morgan Stanley will soon open its trillion-dollar wealth management funnel to AI agents
- Advisor moves: Private wealth duo managing $2B leaps from Fifth Third to LPL (UBS teams to RBC and Raymond James)
- Royal Bank of Canada Annual Report 2025, Management's Discussion and Analysis (Form 40-F exhibit)
- Raymond James Financial Reports Fiscal Second Quarter of 2026 Results
- Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are emerging as AI winners
- Robinhood and TradePMR Unveil the Future of Wealth Management at SYNERGY26
- Innovation and AI at UBS (undated page, retrieved 2026-10-13)
- UBS appoints Chief AI Officer to drive its AI strategy
- The UBS AI Advantage (financial advisor experience)
- UBS at Bank of America financials conference: growth meets capital pressure (transcript)
- Launch of AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief
- Introducing ChatGPT for Financial Services
- OpenAI courts Wall Street with ChatGPT for financial services, developed with Morgan Stanley
- Bank of America (BAC) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Bank of America plans to double AI budget next year
- U.S. Treasury Announces Record Enforcement Actions Against Bank of America
- OCC Imposes $750 Million Assessment Against Bank of America for Deficient BSA/AML Compliance
- BofA fined $1.21 billion over AML
- Wirehouse watch: Wells Fargo debuts AI-powered advisor platform
- Wells Fargo Enhances Banking Capabilities Using AI and Digital Assets
- Wells Fargo Reports Third Quarter 2026 Net Income of $6.0 billion, or $1.87 per Diluted Share
- Raymond James Financial Q3 Earnings Call Highlights
- Meta's Muse reignites AI disruption fears. Traders are targeting this brokerage stock as next casualty
- RBC's proprietary AI foundation model for financial services aims to enhance personalized client experience
- RBC ranks #1 in Canada and #3 globally for AI maturity in financial services for fourth straight year
- RBC creates new AI Group to help bring top AI opportunities to market
- Royal Bank of Canada Annual Report 2025 (EX-99.1, filed with the SEC)
- RBC Capital Markets Advances Research and Banking Capabilities With Agentic AI (undated page, retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Annual Risk Outlook: Semi-annual update, fiscal year 2026-2027
- 2026 Company Update Transcript - Chairman and CEO Q&A
- JPMorgan Chase blocks outside AI agents like Muse, Instinct from directly accessing accounts
- JPMorgan CEO Dimon warns customers of 'liability transfer' with AI
- JPMorgan warns of risks to consumers who rely on AI agents
- Charles Schwab Launches AI-Powered Capability That Helps Investors Understand Portfolio Performance and Market Activity
- Schwab (SCHW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Charles Schwab's Amy Ruegg: AI Can Make Investing Easier, but Human Expertise Remains Key
- Raymond James launches proprietary digital AI agent to bolster operational excellence
- Raymond James Hires David Solganik as Head of AI Strategy
- Raymond James expands service-focused technology investment with Zoom AI Companion meeting summaries
- Goldman Sachs staff now write a million gen AI prompts a month
- Earnings call transcript: Goldman Sachs tops Q3 2026 estimates as revenue rises
- Goldman's Solomon wants 'clear human accountability' on AI
- Earnings Results Presentation, First Quarter 2026
- The Most Powerful Women in Banking Women to Watch, #7, Debopama Sen, Citi
- BARCLAYS PLC ORD 25P (BARC.L) Q4 FY2025 earnings call transcript
- Barclays to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot to 100,000 colleagues
- Barclays scales Claude to upgrade operations and improve client experience
- Scaling AI at Barclays: implementation, efficiency, and the future of customer experience (undated page, retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Barclays PLC Annual Report 2025 on Form 20-F
- The Most Powerful Women in Banking Women to Watch, #24, Anne Marie Darling, Barclays
- Investor Deep Dive 2025: Investment Bank presentation (Fabrizio Campelli)
- Deutsche Bank Deploys Farsight On-Premise Across Investment Banking and Capital Markets in Europe and the Americas
- Robinhood Reports First Quarter 2026 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Robinhood Puts the Power of Hedge Funds in Every Trader's Pocket
- Robinhood rolls out OpenAI and Anthropic trading agents to millions of users
- Raymond James (RJF) Q2 2026 Earnings Transcript
- UBS moves toward full-service US bank for affluent clients
- Bank of America Fast Facts (undated page, retrieved 2026-10-19)
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025
- Raymond James Financial Reports Fiscal Third Quarter of 2026 Results
- Raymond James on track to top advisor recruiting record, CEO says
- Exhibit 99.1: Schwab Reports Record Quarterly Revenue and Earnings (Form 8-K)
- UBS first-quarter 2026 earnings call prepared remarks and Q&A (Form 6-K)
- UBS gets OCC final approval for US charter
- Finster AI secures investment from UBS to advance AI innovation in investment banking
- UBS reports 2Q26 net profit of USD 2.8bn and USD 5.8bn for 1H26 (Business Wire)
- HSBC USA Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025
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