Top UBS banker in Australia sees role helping ultra-rich invest abroad

UBS Group AG expects rich Australians to seek more investment outside the country as assets grow and they want to diversify more.

Anthony Sweetman, UBS’s Australasia joint country head, said he’s pushing to maintain and strengthen the firm’s market position in Australia as investor needs change.

‘Wealth Investors to Look Global’

“In Australia you’ll see a continued growth in wealth and larger demand for wealth services,” Sweetman said in a Bloomberg Television interview at the UBS Australasia Conference in Sydney on Monday.

Like the company’s institutional and pension investors, “you will see wealth investors look more globally than they may have historically, which is positive for our business given its global focus.”

UBS last month posted results that topped expectations, driven by trading and progress on controlling costs after integrating Credit Suisse. Australia and Singapore have been key markets in the Asia-Pacific this year, the firm’s regional president has said. The bank’s shares reached the highest since 2008 last week.

‘FDI to Continue’

Sweetman also said he’s expecting more money to flow into Australia due to its attractiveness on the global playing field.

“Certainly what we’ve seen over the last 12 months is a significant level of foreign direct investment activity by corporates in particular that we expect to continue,” he said. That’s driven by “fundamentals and demographics in Australia,” where there is a relatively “more positive growth outlook and an attractive place for foreign companies to invest.”

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.