A total of 22 senior client-facing staff from Hong Kong and Singapore have joined the inaugural Asia-Pacific intake, UBS said in a statement.

The two-year part-time programme is aimed at providing participants exposure to in-depth and actionable expertise in client book management, client investment and client relationship management, UBS said.

Faculty include thought leaders from leading academic institutions such as Harvard, Columbia, Princeton University and University of Zurich, experts from consultancies like PwC and KPMG, and senior leaders and subject matter experts from UBS providing best practice insights.

As wealth management firms in fast-growing regions such as Asia seek to develop talent in-house – rather than just hire from rivals – such moves are increasingly important. There are a number of training programmes around the world at the post-graduate level with relevance to wealth management. This publication will shortly issue an updated list of such programmes, such as the Master of Science In Wealth Management via the Singapore Management University. (That course is produced in collaboration with the Wealth Management Institute and Swiss Finance Institute.

UBS said its programme is tailored towards on-the-job development and business application with off-the-job lectures.

"The wealth management industry is seeing a paradigm shift, where there is an increased focus on investment performance and transparency. In this highly complex environment, our clients are seeking credible professional advice and investment solutions that match their needs and objectives. More than ever, client advisors need to be equipped to provide investment advice which allows their clients to meet their wealth objectives and achieve optimal portfolio performance,” Kathryn Shih, chief executive of UBS Wealth Management for the Asia-Pacific region, said.

Topics in the UBS Wealth Management Master programme include delivering on our client promise, the global and emerging market economic environment and financial markets, investment management, “intranpreneurial” leadership and client relationship success, it said.

UBS has around 1,000 client advisors in the region.

The UBS Business University Asia-Pacific is situated at the historic Command House in Singapore – and has been in the city-state since 2007.

The UBS Business University delivers curricula for client-facing staff with certification programmes such as the Wealth Management Master and the Wealth Management Diploma training. The Swiss bank said it is the first such institution to receive an external recognition and accreditation by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs on its Wealth Management Diploma programme.