The world's biggest wealth management house reported a strong set of Q1 results across all divisions.

The wealth management arms of UBS today announced rises in first-quarter operating profits in the first three months of 2015 – the highest figures since 2008. The Swiss firm also reported what it said were strong results in other divisions.

UBS’s wealth management (excluding Americas) division said operating profit before tax was SFr951 million ($1.056 billion) in Q1, a 47 per cent year-on-year gain; its wealth management Americas division made a profit of SFr253 million, up 20 per cent. The retail and corporate segment’s profits rose 26 per cent to SFr427 million; global asset management’s pre-tax operating profit rose 98 per cent to SFr168 million, and the investment bank’s profits surged 232 per cent to SFr233 million.

The results are particularly gratifying for the firm at a time when Swiss banks had to contend early in 2015 with a surge in the Swiss franc exchange rate, which hits those firms with substantial foreign earnings that have to be converted into francs.

In total, across all divisions, profits surged 570 per cent to SFr2.708 billion. The profit was a “very strong result, particularly considering the abovementioned volatility in foreign exchange rates, currency translation effects and the continued impact of low to negative interest rates on our businesses,” UBS said.

It reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of SFr1.977 billion, up 88 per cent on the prior year.

In wealth management (ex Americas), the rise in profit included a rise in operating income, largely as a result of higher transaction-based income.

Operating expenses declined. Net new money was SFr14.4 billion, with inflows from all regions, particularly in Asia-Pacific, as well as in domestic and international businesses in Europe. Wealth Management Americas reported strong productivity among its financial advisors; net new money was $4.8 billion.

Across the whole of UBS’s businesses, there was a cost/income ratio of 69.2 per cent.

Total invested assets were SFr2.708 billion at the end of March, from SFr2.734 billion at the end of December 2014.