The UBS Aspiring Legacy Financial Advisor Program

Transition your business on your terms

by Jane Eisland, Advisor Recruiting and Retention, UBS Wealth Management

As we imagine your career as a UBS advisor, we think of it as a journey divided into three stages: join UBS, grow with UBS and transition from UBS. The transition component features our Aspiring Legacy Financial Advisor (ALFA) program, which rewards you for your life's work and ensures that your clients continue to receive your high standard of care.

This article provides a broad overview of our ALFA program, designed with your needs in mind. Our unique approach to succession planning and transitioning is making a difference for advisors who commit to a career at UBS.

The benefits of the UBS ALFA Program: what is waiting for you as you transition out of the industry

Our highly flexible ALFA program helps you transition on your terms. It rewards you for the business you have built over the life of your career. Here are a few program benefits:

Number 1

Highly competitive compensation

We are proud that our ALFA program is one of the most competitive transition programs in the industry. It aligns with our strategy of recognizing your long-term commitment to UBS. In fact, ALFA Core and ALFA Plus give Financial Advisors the opportunity to earn up to 300% of eligible production generated on accounts as they transition out of the industry.

Number 2

A program built around your timing

Our ALFA program consists of two components: ALFA Plus and ALFA Core:

ALFA Plus is available to eligible Financial Advisors who produce at least $1 million. When you commit to ALFA Plus, you are committing to enter and complete our ALFA Core components (see below). In exchange for this commitment, UBS offers an upfront payment in the form of a loan of as much as 100% of trailing 12-month production.

ALFA Core, with a maximum of 200%, is available to eligible Financial Advisors with production of at least $200,000. This is in addition to ALFA Plus for eligible Financial Advisors. Upon entering ALFA Core, you transition your book to a successor Financial Advisor and remain an active employee for a period of time, ensuring a smooth transition for you and your clients.

We are wholly committed to the ALFA program. The following aspects of ALFA Core and ALFA Plus will remain in place for eligible Financial Advisors for the entirety of their employment, provided they remain continuously employed as a Financial Advisor:

  • The eligibility requirements for ALFA Core and ALFA Plus
  • ALFA Core Payout Percentages
  • ALFA Plus Loan Percentages1
Number 3

Teaming and continuity

Under our program, legacy Financial Advisors team up with the Advisors to whom their clients will transition, offering continuity in their relationship with UBS.

Our ALFA program allows our Financial Advisors to create a great transition for themselves and their clients.
John Mathews, Head of UBS Private Wealth Management
Number 4

A focus on succession planning

As a UBS Financial Advisor, you think about your clients first and foremost and want to be confident there is a smooth transition. You need a plan in place as you think about what will happen when you are ready to transition out of the industry. Succession planning gives you peace of mind that you can do so and that clients’ needs will continue to be met.

“We believe our ALFA program is the best in our industry,” says John Mathews, Head of UBS Private Wealth Management. “It is a program that allows our Financial Advisors to create a great transition for themselves and their clients, and one that rewards and reognizes all the hard work they have done over the years. Our ALFA program allows you to start thinking about a team and collaborating with another Financial Advisor, which are especially beneficial from the client's point of view.“

Number 5

A generous funding structure

Our ALFA program is funded by the firm and a portion of the accounts transitioned under the program. The first 100 percentage points of ALFA Core are funded from the production on the transitioned accounts. The firm funds the remaining percentage points of ALFA Core and the entire amount of ALFA Plus.

For example, a legacy Financial Advisor receives a maximum award of 300 percent, with 100 percent in ALFA Plus and 200 percent in ALFA Core. The successor Financial Advisor funds the first 100 percent of ALFA Core. The amount over 100 percent (or 100 percent) and the ALFA Plus rate of 100 percent are funded by the firm. On a 300 percent award, the firm pays 200 percent or 67 percent of the total amount received by the legacy Financial Advisor.

Our commitment to your transition with the ALFA program

UBS is committed to our clients, our Financial Advisors and the ALFA program. We want to reward and recognize all your hard work throughout your UBS career. Our ALFA program offers the opportunity to create a successful transition that rewards you for the practice you have built and makes sense for your clients.

“We have made an ongoing commitment to stay at UBS by joining the firm’s ALFA program,” says Drew Freides, Managing Director-Wealth Management and Private Wealth Advisor with Mainsail Wealth Partners. “In a world of ever-increasing challenges and complexities, we believe UBS is where we have the best support and opportunities to serve our clients’ needs and interests.”

Full scope of resources to support you every step of the way:

  • Guidance from your local UBS Field Leader as you start thinking about the best successors so you can be confident your succession plan is executed with your clients at the forefront.
  • Individual counseling with senior leaders on our Recruiting and Retention Team to help you think through your succession plan. This includes:
    • Personalized illustrations so you can understand the ALFA program based on your specific situation
    • Benefits experts to help you frame out your decision, including the protection available to you and your family

If you want to learn more about the ALFA program, reach out to your local UBS Field Leader.

To learn more about how you can transition your business with the UBS ALFA program or to apply for a UBS Financial Advisor role, submit your contact information to be connected with a Field Leader.

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1 Notwithstanding these commitments, given the highly regulated nature of our business, the firm must retain the right to amend or eliminate these commitments: (i) if necessary or appropriate to comply with legal or regulatory requirements or any changes in applicable law, rules or regulations or in the interpretation thereof by any regulator, agency or tribunal of competent jurisdiction; or (ii) if the firm determines in its  discretion that continuing these commitments in their then current form would be impractical or materially adverse to the firm as a result of any changes in applicable law, rules or regulations or accounting standards or in the interpretation thereof by any regulator, agency or tribunal of competent jurisdiction.