UBS Group’s global co-head of wealth management said it will be key for clients to diversify investments going ahead amid political tension and growing global strains.
“In a world that’s geopolitically more charged and potentially less global being diversified is important,” said Iqbal Khan, speaking to Bloomberg Television at the bank’s Greater China conference in Shanghai on Monday.
UBS is the biggest wealth manager in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 1,000 client advisers. The Swiss bank relocated Iqbal Khan to Hong Kong last year, underlining the region’s importance even amid a prolonged downturn in the Chinese economy.
Khan said he still expects US interest rate reductions, albeit a bit slower than anticipated.
He reiterated the bank’s commitment to Asia and to China, where the bank is waiting to gain approval to purchase the remainder of a securities venture in the country.
“We have started to see a commitment of China toward the economy and we are starting to see that economic policy come to bear,” he said. “We will see what the next steps around the more proactive fiscal stance will be in China. That will be as relevant as what the US does.”
See also: Better market clarity later this year; position for China consumption plays, says OCBC's Menon
The Swiss bank is scheduled to report its fourth quarter earnings on Feb 4.
