Bär & Karrer Advises UBS on the Sale of UBS Swiss Financial Advisers

On 16 December 2021, UBS has signed an agreement to sell UBS Swiss Financial Advisers AG (UBS SFA) to Vontobel. UBS SFA is a Swiss-based SEC-registered investment advisor and FINMA-licensed securities firm for US clients seeking an account in Switzerland for diversification purposes with approximately CHF 7.2 billion assets under management. Closing of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to occur in Q3 of 2022.

Bär & Karrer acted as external Swiss legal and tax advisor to UBS in this transaction. The team included Urs Kägi, Linus Zweifel, Matthias Tanner, Rebecca Schori, Stefanie Walch and Nadina Duss (all M&A/Corporate), Peter Hsu (Banking/Regulatory), Pascal Hachem and Martina Athanas (both Banking/Cross-border Proceedings), Mani Reinert (Competition), Susanne Schreiber and Hanna Brozzo (both Tax), Ruth Bloch-Riemer (Pensions) as well as Laura Widmer (Employment).