UBS is to buy robo addvisor Wealthfront for $1.4 billion, marking the Swiss bank's first fintech acquisition under the tenure of CEO Ralph Hamers.
Wealthfront currently oversees $27 billion for over 470,000 clients in the US with a tailored offering for next gen affluent investors.
“Adding Wealthfront’s capabilities and client base to our global investment ecosystem will significantly boost our ability to grow our business in the US,” says Hamers, who was recruited from ING in 2020. “Wealthfront complements our core business in the US providing wealth management to high net worth and ultra high net worth investors through trusted relationships with financial advisors, and will enhance our long-term ambition to deliver a scalable, digital-led wealth management solution to affluent investors.”
He says Wealthfront’s capabilities will become the foundation for UBS' new digital offering which will also include access to remote human advice. In addition, Wealthfront will expand UBS’s existing offering through the firm’s Wealth Advice Center, which focuses on serving core affluent clients, and its Workplace Wealth Solutions business, which works with employees of corporate clients on equity plan participation, financial education and retirement programs.
Wealthfront’s existing clients will continue to have access to Wealthfront’s banking services, including securities backed loans, instant transfers to investment accounts, direct deposit, bill pay, and transfer services.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022.