(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG named Robert Karofsky the sole head of its investment-banking unit, elevating its top trader after co-president Piero Novelli accepted a job as chairman of the Euronext NV stock exchange.
Novelli plans to step down from the bank at the end of next month to join the European bourse, according to statements Monday. The two were put in charge as co-presidents following the departure of Andrea Orcel, with Karofsky overseeing trading and Novelli heading the business of advising on deals.
Since taking over in 2018, the duo shook up the unit, split it into two segments — global banking and global markets — and focused it on specific sectors such as consumer, industrial, and financial institutions. After a long period of downsizing as UBS pivoted toward wealth management, the investment bank last year recorded its best performance since 2012, helped by a trading surge in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Shares of UBS rose 1.3% at 11:23 a.m. in Zurich trading, bringing gains this year to about 10%.
The move is the latest in a series of reshuffles and reviews under Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers, who took over in November with a mandate to lead UBS through a period of increasing competition and cost pressures. He named a key executive, Sabine Keller-Busse, to run the bank’s Swiss unit, appointed a chief transformation officer and is looking for a chief operating officer.
In appointing a single head of the investment bank, he’s streamlining a management structure put in place under his predecessor Sergio Ermotti that emphasized competition between executives. At the investment bank, the 2018 restructuring of the advisory business led to a series of co-heads being appointed, bloating management ranks.
UBS also still has a co-head structure in its wealth business, with Iqbal Khan overseeing the business in Europe and Asia while Tom Naratil runs the unit in the Americas. Khan, a star banker at rival Credit Suisse Group AG who switched to UBS in 2019, was given the additional responsibility of president of the EMEA region in Hamers’s recent shakeup, while Naratil already holds the equivalent title for the Americas.
Karofsky, who joined UBS in 2014, has driven a digital transformation of the markets unit, an area Hamers has said he would like to continue focusing on. Revenue from trading surged 33% last year, mostly driven by fixed income. Global banking — which includes the advisory business — saw revenue rise 23%.
A former Merrill Lynch employee, Novelli joined UBS in 2004, overseeing global mergers and acquisitions, and returned in 2013 after a stint at Nomura Holdings Inc.
“I want to personally thank Piero for his contributions to reshaping our investment bank and successfully co-leading the business, employees and our clients through the pandemic,” Hamers said in the statement. “I am confident Rob is the right leader to help us achieve our strategic ambitions.”
(Updates with investment bank performance in eighth paragraph.)
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
