UBS institutional client coverage lead departs

UBS Asset Management's local head of institutional client coverage has exited after almost two decades with the firm.

Drew Fowler, who has run institutional coverage for four years, confirmed his departure.

Fowler started with the Swiss giant's Australian asset management business as a national sales manager in 2007.

He started his career as an account director at Perpetual back in 2002.

It is understood that UBS country head Alison Telfer has now expanded her role and will also lead the institutional team following Fowler's exit.

Telfer - appointed country head of Australasia in early 2022 - has been repositioning the UBS AM strategy since she came on board to introduce UBS global strategies into the Australian market.

Expanding her remit to include distribution will allow UBS AM to implement this strategy more effectively.

Industry observers say combining the country head role with the head of institutional sales recognises this strategic shift and better connects UBS AM's Australian client base to the firm's global capabilities.

Interestingly, earlier this year, Telfer took on the role of head of wholesale client coverage before recruiting Thira Ngoeun from BNP Paribas AM.

Before hiring Ngoeun, the head of the wholesale role had remained vacant for over a year following the departure of Marcus Cleary, who had held it since 2021.

Ngoeun reports locally to Telfer and the regional head of wholesale distribution, Thomas Kaegi.

Last month, UBS posted its first quarterly profit since taking over Credit Suisse.

Higher revenues at its wealth management business and investment bank drove net profit to US$1.8 billion in the first three months of 2024.

Wealth revenues climbed 11% from the previous quarter to US$6.1 billion.