Juerg Zeltner, UBS' former private banking head, is lifting his head above the parapet. The wealth veteran telegraphed that he is poised to return to the industry – and where he might touch down.
Until his abrupt exit from UBS more than one year ago, Juerg Zeltner was one of private banking's longest-standing and most prominent top executives. Since then, UBS has unwound many Zeltner initiatives including Smartwealth, a robo adviser in Britian, and a program devoted to winning women as wealthy clients.
Zeltner has largely vanished, even after his 30-year ties to UBS formally lapsed last fall. This week, the heavyweight stuck his head above the parapet, signaling that he is likely to return to the private banking industry soon.
After UBS, Where?
The career path for Zeltner isn't clear; after all, where would he go after running the world's largest private bank for nine years? And yet at just 51, he is clearly on the lookout for his next career move.
That isn't likely to be with an industry giant like UBS. Why? Smaller, technology-fueled ventures are better for clients, Zeltner told U.K. outlet «Euromoney» (behind paywall) in his first interview since leaving UBS.
«Given clients will be prepared to pay more for good advice, and that technology and outsourcing capabilities allow for lower entry costs, the model for serving them is just as likely to be small and focused as it will be large and broad».
Poised for Comeback
A spokesman for the Swiss private banker didn't comment on Zeltner's career plans. He spent his entire career at UBS, rising through the ranks after an apprenticeship in the 1980s. He has a forerunner of sorts in ex-Credit Suisse private bank boss Walter Berchtold, against whom Zeltner competed fiercely following the financial crisis.
Berchtold did a brief stint as CEO of scandal-battered Falcon before buying himself into private debt boutique Vicenda last year. Zeltner wouldn't have aired his views to the British publication so freely if he weren't poised for his comeback.
«Performance is coming under scrutiny and high net-worth clients will be questioning the fees they are paying for investment management and advice», he told «Euromoney». Will Zeltner soon be giving the super-rich advice on how to outrun the fee trap?
