Frequently asked questions

Some US-registered broker-dealers or affiliates are participants in the SIX Swiss Exchange with their own membership and market-making capabilities. These brokers will accept orders to be executed on SIX Swiss Exchange and/or the NYSE. Depending on the broker, you may be charged differently for transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange compared to the NYSE. Brokers or custodians may also charge an additional fee for the transfer of shares from Switzerland to the US or vice versa.

Because of the greater volume of UBS shares traded on SIX Swiss Exchange, for the foreseeable future Swiss trading will be the primary determinant of the share price and liquidity on the Swiss Exchange will be higher. During the hours in which both SIX Europe and NYSE are simultaneously open, price differences are likely to be arbitraged away by professional market makers. The NYSE price will therefore depend on both the SIX Swiss Exchange price and the prevailing USD/CHF exchange rate. When SIX Swiss Exchange is closed, traded volumes will be lower, however the Designated Market Maker firm making a market in UBS shares on the NYSE, Barclays Capital, will facilitate sufficient liquidity and an orderly market.

The valuation of companies is dependent on multiple factors including the earnings outlook. Within the earnings stream of any multinational company, there will usually be earnings in one particular currency which have a dominant effect. As a global financial services firm, UBS earns revenues in many currencies. Because UBS prepares its accounts in CHF, changes in currency exchange rates, particularly between CHF/USD and CHF/GBP, may have an effect on reported earnings.