UBS signs U.S. deal with Broadridge for cost-sharing wealth technology

[October 25, 2018]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - UBS Group AG's Wealth Management Americas unit said on Thursday it will roll out a new software platform to its U.S.-based financial advisers and staff that will allow the Swiss bank to split some tech costs with other firms.

The bank said in a statement that it had hired fintech company Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc to provide the tech tool, which its roughly 7,000 advisers and their staff will use for front- and back-office tasks, like opening client accounts, trade routing and order management and asset servicing.

No financial details were provided.

UBS is the first major client to buy Broadridge's wealth platform. If other firms begin using the technology, the costs of certain services, like regulatory compliance, will be shared by all firms on the platform, said Tim Gokey, Broadridge's president and chief operating officer, in an interview.

The services that will have shared costs are "things that everybody has to do, and we have to do them in the same way, but they don't differentiate our firm to our clients or advisers," said Thomas Giacalone, UBS head of operations for wealth management in the Americas.

By signing on to Broadridge's platform, UBS does not have to invest in building out its own software or manage several third-party providers, said Giacalone.

"Having the best back-office and middle-office technology and being able to moderate those expenses is one of the keys to making us more efficient," Giacalone said.

UBS executives last week announced plans to aggressively grow its base of wealthy U.S. clients.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

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