We meet with institutional investors worldwide throughout
the year and regularly hold results presentations, special investor
seminars, road shows, individual and group meetings.
Where possible, meetings involve senior management
as well as members of the investor relations team. We
make use of diverse technologies such as webcasting, audio
links and cross-location video-conferencing to widen
our audience and maintain contact with shareholders
around the world.
Once a year, unless they explicitly choose not to, registered
shareholders receive a summary of our annual report in
the form of an annual review. It provides an overview of the
firm and our activities during the year as well as key financial
information. Each quarter, shareholders are mailed a brief
update on our quarterly financial performance. Shareholders
can also request our complete financial reports, produced on
a quarterly and annual basis, free of charge.
To ensure fair access to and dissemination of our financial
information, we make our publications available to all shareholders
at the same time.
Financial disclosure principles
Based on discussions with analysts and investors, we believe
that the market rewards companies that provide clear, consistent
and informative disclosure about their business.
Therefore, we aim to communicate our strategy and results
in a manner that allows shareholders and investors to gain
an understanding of how our company works, what our growth prospects are and what risks our strategy and results
might entail. Feedback from analysts and investors is continually
assessed and, where relevant, reflected in our quarterly
and annual reports. To continue to achieve these goals,
we apply the following principles in our financial reporting
and disclosure:
Transparency in disclosure enhances understanding of the
economic drivers and builds trust and credibility.
Consistency in disclosure within each reporting period
and between reporting periods.
Simplicity in disclosure allows readers to gain an understanding
of the performance of our businesses.
Relevance in disclosure avoids information overload by
focusing on what is required by regulation or statute and
is relevant to our stakeholders.
Best practice in line with industry norms, leading the way
to improved standards where possible.
Financial reporting policies
We report our results after the end of every quarter, including
a breakdown of results by business division and extensive
disclosures relating to credit and market risk.
Our financial statements are prepared according to IFRS
as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
We are committed to maintaining the transparency of our
reported results and to ensuring that analysts and investors
can make meaningful comparisons with previous periods. If
there is a major reorganization of our business divisions, or if
changes to accounting standards or interpretations lead to a
material change in the Groups reported results, our results
are restated for previous periods when required by applicable
accounting standards, to show how they would have
been reported according to the new basis and provide clear
explanations of all relevant changes.
US regulatory disclosure requirements
As a foreign private issuer, we must file reports and other
information, including certain financial reports, with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the US
federal securities laws. We file an annual report on Form 20-
F, and submit our quarterly financial reports under cover of
Form 6-K to the SEC. These reports, as well as materials sent
to shareholders in connection with AGMs and EGMs, are all
available at www.ubs.com/investors.
On 31 December 2009, an evaluation was carried out under
the supervision of management including the Group CEO
and Group CFO, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a15e) under the US
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based upon that evaluation,
the Group CEO and Group CFO concluded that our disclosure
controls and procedures were effective as of that date. No
significant changes have been made in our internal controls
or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls
subsequent to the date of their evaluation.
In accordance with Section 404 of the US Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002, our management is responsible for establishing
and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting.
The financial statements of this report contain managements
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control
over financial reporting, as per 31 December 2009. The external
auditors report on this assessment is also included in
this report.