EXCLUSIVE: UBS Head Of Research In UK Departs

Max Skjönsberg

10 May 2012

Brian O'Reilly, head of research at UBS Wealth Management in the UK, has left the firm after nearly 12 years, WealthBriefing has learned.

O’Reilly, who has a background at UBS’ investment bank and, prior to that, Goldman Sachs, has left the UBS to pursue an opportunity outside the bank. In his role as head of research in the UK, he led a team of three at the Swiss bank.

UBS declined to comment on the matter when contacted by this publication; details of O'Reilly's next role are as yet unknown.

In other recent developments at UBS Wealth Management in the UK, the bank bolstered its Birmingham team with the addition of client advisors Johnny McGrath and David Price last month. McGrath joined from Allied Irish Bank, where he was a senior manager in the Midlands private banking team, while Price joins from Credit Suisse, where he was an assistant vice president. UBS said in a statement that its Midlands office has seen significant growth in the past three years and that it has ambitious plans for the region.

What is more, the bank recently appointed Mark Idriss, a private banking veteran who has worked at firms including Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, as its new head of London International for the Swiss firm’s wealth management arm.

Last week, UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, said that its wealth management pre-tax profit was SFr803 million ($865.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2012 compared with SFr471 million in the previous quarter, and included a reduction in personnel expenses of SFr237 million related to changes to its Swiss pension plan.