In London, client advisor Blake Shorthouse convinced David Ross, an owner of European mobile telephone retailer Carphone Warehouse, to become a UBS client by taking a complete look at his assets and coming up with practical solutions that helped manage the risks inherent in his personal balance sheet.

„Looking at David’s overall balance sheet, we argued that his main asset was his shareholding in Carphone and that his cash should therefore be invested in asset classes other than equities in order to manage risk,” explains Blake.

Blake advised that David put the assets in the mandate into arbitrage-based hedge funds – which had a low correlation with equities and hence with his Carphone stake. The goal was to achieve growth independent of stock market fluctuations. Hedge funds held a particular appeal to David as an entrepreneur, as the managers tend to hold capital in their own funds, and fees are usually very closely linked to performance, thereby aligning the interests of the managers with those of the investor.

Over time, a relationship of trust built up between David and UBS. David substantially increased his hedge fund mandate at UBS and now consults with his UBS team on many of his personal financial matters. „It is refreshing to work with people who not only understand your whole balance sheet but also care about it,” he says.