UBS cuts LGT Crestone’s access to research ahead of mega merger
Private adviser LGT Crestone will lose access to UBS’ analyst research now that the Swiss bank is returning to Australia’s wealth management scene through its takeover of Credit Suisse.
UBS management told staff and LGT Crestone that its research capabilities would be cut off from the end of August, as the Swiss bank absorbs Credit Suisse’s private banking arm, people familiar with the decision told The Australian Financial Review.
UBS will turn from research provider to competitor against advisers such as LGT Crestone, Morgan Stanley and JBWere, which are vying to manage the wealth of the country’s richest people.
UBS’ equities research team finished in the top six of last year’s Peter Lee survey. Louie Douvis
Private wealth advisers rely on troves of exclusive research from global banks across equities, fixed income and foreign exchange, to guide investment decisions on behalf of their clients. Private bankers also often look to broker research to help conduct due diligence on funds and other structured investments, the people said.
UBS competes with the likes of JPMorgan, Macquarie and Barrenjoey Partners, among others, for top research honours in the annual Peter Lee survey, which asks institutional investors to rank sell-side analysts and their trading desk colleagues.
Michael Chisholm, LGT Crestone’s chief executive, said the company’s research agreements were “renegotiated from time to time”, and its UBS arrangements were “being refreshed from the end of August”.
“LGT Crestone obtains investment research from a range of providers, and we regularly review and change these,” Mr Chisholm said. “We continue to have access to global macroeconomic, equity and fixed-income research from most major providers around the
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