UBS Mission Statement Analysis

Company: UBS Group AG
CEO: Sergio Ermotti
Year founded: 1998
Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland
Number of Employees: 115,038 (112,842 FTE)
Type: Public
Ticker Symbol: UBSG
Market Cap (Feb 2025): $107.34 Billion
Annual Revenue (2024): $48.06 Billion
Profit | Net income (2024): $5.1 Billion

Products & Services: Wealth Management | Investment Banking | Asset Management | Commercial & Retail Banking

Did you know? UBS is the largest Swiss banking institution and the world’s largest private bank.

UBS is a Swiss investment bank founded in Jun 1998 by Marcel Ospel. It offers investment banking, asset and wealth management, and retail banking in over 50 countries worldwide. UBS’s mission, vision, culture, and sustainability goals drive growth and success. UBS is one of the bulge bracket banks with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank. In Mar 2023, UBS agreed to merge with Credit Suisse in a 3 billion Swiss franc all-stock deal. The government-brokered deal prevented the embattled Credit Suisse from failing. The legal merger between the Swiss banks was completed in Jul 2024. [1]

UBS is the world’s largest private bank and a leading global wealth manager. This Swiss bank managed $5.7 trillion in invested assets as of 2023. Its managed assets increased after acquiring Credit Suisse. It has offices and employees in all major financial hubs worldwide. In 2024, UBS generated $48.06 billion in annual revenue, with $5.1 billion in profit. [2]

To understand why UBS is so successful, here is a comprehensive analysis of its mission statement, vision, culture, and sustainability goals:

UBS’s Mission Statement

Reimagining the power of people and capital to create a better world for all of us – a world that’s fair, sustainable, and gives everyone the opportunity to thrive.

The statement is at the heart of UBS’s operations and decisions. It has two parts: reimagining the power of investing and connecting people for a better world. These parts work together and individually to connect people, ideas, and opportunities. Over 3,000 UBS employees collaborated as the “discovery squad” to explore, listen, and answer fundamental questions, helping the perfect purpose statement. “We involved all employees throughout the journey, including members of the Group Executive Board and the Board of Directors, as well as thought leaders and clients,” said UBS, “It became clear what was important to everyone.” [3]

Here is our analysis of UBS’s mission statement:

1. Reimagining the power of investing

UBS aims to enhance individuals’ investing capabilities and options with tailored products and services. The bank offers diversified asset management and investment banking solutions. In Nov 2024, UBS Asset Management launched the UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund Token (uMINT), built on Ethereum distributed ledger technology. This product meets the increasing investor demand for tokenized financial assets. Token holders can now access the firm’s institutional-grade cash management solutions driven by quality money market instruments based on a risk-managed framework.

UBS leverages advanced tech-driven solutions and innovations to reimagine investing. Its asset management division is a global fund issuance and distribution leader. In Oct 2023, the division launched its live pilot of a tokenized Variable Capital Company (VCC) fund. UBS completed the world’s first cross-border digital bond repurchase transaction on a public blockchain in Nov 2023. This natively-issued digital bond was fully executed and settled on a public blockchain. [4]

2. Connecting people for a better world

UBS strives to create a better world by connecting people with professionals and solutions. The firm helps clients reach their financial goals through personalized advice and products. It expands cloud infrastructure and GenAI usage to transform client service, efficiency, and security. As of Feb 2025, UBS had launched 50,000 Copilot licenses to its employees. Its GenAI tools delivered 1.75m prompts in 2024. These tech investments drive business outcomes and help connect customers to services. [5]

UBS seeks to connect clients with more financial solutions by integrating its divisions and creating new units. For example, in Jun 2024, UBS announced plans to shake up its flagship wealth-management business to boost its offerings to ultra-rich clients. The bank created the new GWM Solutions unit to integrate several products and services, such as investment and wealth management, lending, and alternative investments. It launched the Unified Global Alternatives unit by incorporating alternative products from its wealth and asset management businesses. [6]

3. Enhancing access to opportunities

UBS aims to build a world that’s fair and sustainable and provides everyone the opportunity to thrive. The firm offers innovative solutions to enhance access to opportunities. In 2024, UBS introduced its Red proprietary AI assistant to deliver unparalleled client service in the digital age. The solution leverages UBS’s vast data resources and Azure’s cutting-edge tech and advanced AI capabilities to drive digital innovation across the bank’s global divisions. As of Jan 2025, 30,000 UBS employees used the AI assistant to access intelligent insights, products, research, and CIO reports. The firm also offers an advanced analytics platform for financial advisors. These AI-driven solutions unlock opportunities that change people’s lives and forge a fairer society. [7]

Checkout: Largest Global Investment Banking Companies by Market Cap

UBS’s Vision Statement

To convene THE global ecosystem for investing – where thought leadership is impactful, people and ideas are connected, and opportunities are brought to life. [8]

How is UBS implementing its vision statement?

UBS is committed to building a global investing ecosystem. The company is achieving this vision through strategic acquisitions and mergers. For example, the UBS-Credit Suisse legal merger was completed in Jul 2024. This development allows UBS to transfer Credit Suisse client relationships and products to its systems in 2025, expanding its investing ecosystem. The deal cements UBS’s leadership and connects more people to ideas and opportunities. [9]

UBS introduces new products and expands existing offerings to create a global investing ecosystem. The bank is invested in its internal growth. In Nov 2024, UBS developed and piloted UBS Digital Cash, a blockchain-based payment solution. The solution facilitates timely payment processing by increasing efficiency, transparency, and secrecy. It expands UBS’s ecosystem and strengthens its cross-border digital payment leadership. [10]

UBS’s Culture

UBS’s inclusive culture has three keys to success: Pillars, Principles, and Behaviors. These elements form the firm’s foundational blocks, defining what it stands for and how it operates. [11]

Here is the breakdown of UBS’s culture:

1. Pillars

UBS is built on efficiency, risk management, and capital strength. These three elements are the firm’s founding blocks. Capital strength delivers a balance sheet for all seasons, while risk management ensures its teams anticipate and handle risk effectively. Both rely on simplification and efficiency to make doing business easy. For example, the bank publishes easy-to-understand reports with insights into risk management. Its Dec 2024 article explained why deploying cash makes sense from a portfolio risk management perspective. [12]

2. Principles

UBS stands for client-centricity, connectivity, and sustainable impact. The bank prioritizes clients in everything, creates success by connecting people, ideas, and opportunities, and acts today with tomorrow in mind. In 2022, UBS earned #1 in overall client satisfaction in the JD Power 2022 US Full-Service Investor Satisfaction study. This award recognizes that UBS is surpassing client expectations. An advisor-centric and client-centric culture fuels UBS’s unique financial advisor experience (fa(X)) and growth. [13]

3. Behaviors

UBS prioritizes accountability with integrity, collaboration, and innovation. These elements define how the firm behaves and operates. The bank encourages employees to own their actions with integrity, collaborate as one UBS, and innovate and improve daily. It also applies these behaviors in its operations. For example, UBS partnered with Microsoft to develop the UBS Red AI assistant powered by Azure AI Search and OpenAI Service. The collaboration digitized 60,000 investment documents, making them easily searchable for client advisors. [14]

Checkout: Largest Investment Banking Companies in the World by Market Cap

UBS’s Sustainability Goals

UBS’s sustainability approach focuses on the Planet, People, and Partnerships. The bank aims to be the financial provider for clients seeking to transition to a low-carbon economy and mobilize capital to achieve the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [15]

UBS prioritizes the shift to a lower-carbon future to protect the planet. It has committed to reaching net-zero emissions across its operations by 2050, aligning with the Paris Agreement.

The firm seeks to minimize its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through energy efficiencies and switching to more sustainable energy. [16]

UBS combines tried-and-tested strategies to achieve its sustainability goals. First, the bank uses its global presence and influence to help people advance. It achieves this target through philanthropy and CSR programs that promote equitable education and economic development. UBS also offers sustainable investment products, allowing clients to invest in green bonds, low-carbon funds, and other climate-conscious opportunities. Second, UBS partners with other thought leaders and standard setters to unite shared goals that drive change globally. It collaborates with VCs and institutional investors to help sustainability projects attract venture capital. [17]

References

Kagan, J. (2025, Jan 6). UBS: Definition, Bank History, Financial Services. Investopedia
Buholzer, D. (2025, Feb 4). UBS Posts $5.1 Billion Profit as Credit Suisse Integration Accelerates. Finews
UBS (2022, Mar 7). A purpose that’s our purpose. UBS.com
UBS (2024, Nov 1). UBS Asset Management launches its first tokenized investment fund. UBS.com
UBS Group AG (2025, Feb 4). UBS reports 4Q24 net profit of USD 0.8 billion and FY24 net profit of USD 5.1 billion. Business Wire
Illien, N. (2024, Jun 27). UBS shakes up flagship wealth business with a new unit. Reuters
FN Staff (2025, Jan 31). UBS and Microsoft Collaborate to Transform Wealth Management with AI-Powered Platform. Fintech News Switzerland
UBS Global. Our Purpose: Our vision. UBS.com
UBS (2024, Jul 1). The legal merger between Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd. and UBS Switzerland AG. UBS.com
UBS (2024, Nov 7). UBS successfully pilots blockchain-based multi-currency payment solutions with UBS Digital Cash. UBS.com
Our Firm: Our culture. UBS.com
UBS Editorial Team (2024, Dec 12). Why deploying cash makes sense from a portfolio risk management perspective. UBS.com
Larado, D. (2023, Jan 15). An advisor-centric (and client-centric) culture. UBS.com
Microsoft Corp (2025, Feb 10). UBS and Microsoft partner to advance AI in banking. Microsoft.com
Sustainability Impact: Our approach. UBS.com
UBS (2024, Mar 28). Sustainability Report 2023. UBS.com
Williment, C. (2024, Nov 8). UBS: “Green Hockey Stick” Signals Carbon Reduction Solutions. Sustainability Magazine
Featured Image by Dulant Pang

UBS Mission Statement Analysis