Sustainable investing:
How UBS helps Financial Advisors support clients and grow their business
We are guided by our ambition to be a leader in sustainability.1
We are guided by our ambition to be a leader in sustainability.1
At UBS, clients remain at the heart of what we do. It is our commitment to be their wealth manager of choice and support them with offerings that meet their evolving needs.1
Within the last few years, we have seen continued demand for sustainable and impact investments as this style of investing allows clients to align their portfolio to their mission or their preferences. We believe sustainable investing* offers investors the ability to pursue market-rate returns, manage downside risk2, focus on long-term opportunities and innovation, and make an impact.
In our view, sustainable and impact investing present an opportunity for Financial Advisors to meet client needs, deepen existing relationships, capture new assets and attract new clients.
You don’t need to navigate it alone. At UBS, we have dedicated teams of professionals to support you and your clients through around-the-clock insights and education, comprehensive range of investment choices and tailored portfolio construction capabilities.
The industry is evolving at such an incredibly rapid pace and you have to evolve with it.
How sustainable investing* may help grow your business
Sustainable investing may help you capture new assets and acquire new clients. In our experience, sustainable investing is top-of-mind for key client segments and can serve as a differentiator in your client and prospect conversations.
Continue reading to see how sustainable investing can help you grow your business and learn more about the resources available to you and your clients.
Client focus
Many investors express interest in sustainable investing* but do not have a clear idea of how they can pursue both sustainability or impact objectives and financial returns in diversified investment portfolios.
At UBS, we help our clients:
- Focus on their sustainability objectives by investing in companies demonstrating leadership on environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics or helping finance the transition to a more sustainable world.
- Make a lasting impact by seeking to generate measurable and verifiable positive environmental and social impact, alongside competitive financial returns.
- Personalize their investment portfolios by building portfolios tailored to their sustainability preferences, such as energy transition or gender equality.
Financial Advisor resources
As a Financial Advisor at UBS Financial Services Inc., a division within UBS Global Wealth Management, you have access to our global scale and footprint in wealth management with USD 6.1 trillion in assets under management, in addition to our end-to-end research-driven investment value chain1. Content from our Chief Investment Office (CIO) includes dedicated sustainability-focused investment research, including current sustainability trends and topics, asset class research and guidance, and thematic investment ideas. Through other available resources, this can then be translated into high-conviction instrument selection and advice.
Thought leadership: Our GWM CIO identifies actionable sustainability-related investment opportunities and publishes a regular series of client-facing sustainable investment views. Additionally, our GWM CIO and the Wealth Management USA Asset Allocation Committee have created a differentiated sustainable investing framework and dedicated set of Sustainable Investing Strategic Asset Allocations designed to provide investors with diversified exposure to strategies with distinct and explicit sustainable investing purpose, as well as estimated volatility-adjusted returns comparable to traditional portfolios over the long run.
Product shelf: While our sustainable investing offering begins with research, it does not stop there. Financial Advisors have access to a robust open architecture sustainable investing product shelf, including options across asset classes and vehicle types (e.g., exchange traded funds, mutual funds, separately managed accounts, and alternative investments) for eligible clients.
Specialists: Our GWM US CIO Sustainable & Impact Investing team has dedicated professionals to support Financial Advisors and clients with research and solutions. There are several other teams who play important roles when it comes to sustainable investing at UBS, across research, due diligence, investment selection and portfolio construction. In addition, we also have teams ready to help clients who want to align their investment and philanthropic strategies. We can help you deliver the best our firm has to offer.
* This terminology refers to definitions in the UBS Sustainable Investing Framework and does not refer or relate to any product specific regulatory labelling regime or naming conventions.
¹ UBS AG “Sustainability Report 2024,” March 2025. All figures are for UBS AG.
² “Sustainable investing in charts,” UBS Global Wealth Management CIO, November 2023.
Important information and disclosures.
For informational and educational purposes only. Nothing herein constitutes an offer to sell, or solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, investment or product, or to engage in any investment strategy. Investing involves risks, including the potential of losing money or the decline in value of the investment. Performance is not guaranteed.
Purpose of this document.
This is marketing material intended to help you understand services and investments we offer. It should be used solely for the purposes of discussion with your UBS Financial Advisor and your independent consideration. UBS does not intend this to be fiduciary or best interest investment advice or a recommendation that you take a particular course of action.
Personalized recommendations or advice.
If you would like more details about any of the information provided, or personalized recommendations or advice, please contact your UBS Financial Advisor.
Conflicts of interest.
UBS Financial Services Inc. is in the business of establishing and maintaining investment accounts (including retirement accounts) and we will receive compensation from you in connection with investments that you make, as well as additional compensation from third parties whose investments we distribute. This presents a conflict of interest when we recommend that you move your assets to UBS from another financial institution or employer retirement plan, and also when we make investment recommendations for assets you hold at, or purchase through, UBS. For more information on how we are compensated by clients and third parties, conflicts of interest and investments available at UBS, please refer to the “Your relationship with UBS“ booklet provided at ubs.com/relationshipwithubs, or ask your UBS Financial Advisor for a copy.
Important information about sustainable investments
Various products and services use terms or labels related to sustainable investments. However, industry standards and terminology related to sustainable investments will differ and are evolving. Therefore, clients and Financial Advisors should carefully review the offering materials to understand how a particular product or strategy approaches sustainable investing and if the approach aligns with client goals and objectives.
At UBS Financial Services Inc., we continue to maintain and evolve our standards and framework for sustainable investing. The terminology we use in our UBS Sustainable Investing Framework does not refer or relate to any product-specific regulatory labelling regime or naming conventions. We believe sustainable investment strategies should have an explicit focus on sustainability objectives or outcomes. However, we do not review every product to determine consistency with our standards, nor do all products that we make available align with our approach. Your Financial Advisor can assist you in identifying products that we have reviewed and determined to be consistent with our standards.
Additional considerations and risks: Sustainable investments across geographies and styles approach the integration of environmental, social and governance factors and other sustainability considerations and incorporate the findings in a variety of ways. Sustainable investing-related strategies may or may not result in favorable investment performance and the strategy may forego favorable market opportunities in order to adhere to sustainable investing-related strategies or mandates. Issuers may not necessarily meet high performance standards on all aspects of sustainability considerations. In addition, there is no guarantee that a product’s sustainable investing-related strategy will be successful. Companies, as well as related investment strategies, face increasing risks associated with different and evolving industry and regulatory standards as well as public sentiment toward sustainable and diversity approaches; these risks include, but are not limited to, becoming the subject of investigations and enforcement actions, litigation, public boycott, and reputational harm.
No tax or legal advice.
UBS Financial Services Inc., its affiliates and its employees do not provide tax or legal advice. You should consult with your personal tax and/or legal advisors regarding your particular situation.
Important information about brokerage and advisory services.
As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS Financial Services Inc. offers investment advisory services in its capacity as an SEC-registered investment adviser and brokerage services in its capacity as an SEC-registered broker-dealer. Investment advisory services and brokerage services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate arrangements. It is important that you understand the ways in which we conduct business and that you carefully read the agreements and disclosures that we provide about the products or services we offer. For more information, please review client relationship summary provided at ubs.com/relationshipsummary.
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