The Bulletin with UBS

Blended finance is a strategy that’s gaining momentum and visibility. In the past decade, it has mobilised more than $200bn (€188bn) in capital toward sustainable development in developing countries. Dhun Davar, head of social finance at the UBS Optimus Foundation, joins us to explain how this helps funding reach high-impact social and environmental projects that might otherwise be overlooked by mainstream markets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the UBS Wealth Management CIO’s outlook for the second quarter of 2024? Our panellists explain why buoyant equity markets, a soft landing in the US, continued central-bank rate-cutting and the ongoing adoption of artificial intelligence have prompted their focus on technology, durable income and risk management. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Global Investment Returns Yearbook is the authoritative guide to historical long-run returns, most recently published by UBS with the London Business School, and covering all the main asset categories in 35 markets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UBS celebrated the 10th year of its proud partnership with Art Basel Hong Kong with a dynamic programme focused on artist responses to city life. We meet Chankalun, an artist who pays homage to the city’s heritage of neon sign-making, and whose works were showcased at the fair in the UBS Art Studio and inaugural UBS One spaces. Plus: Carola Wiese, Senior Art Advisor in the Family Advisory, Art & Collecting division of UBS, and Iwan K Lukminto, collector and founder of Tumurun Museum in Surakarta, Indonesia, join the show to share reflections, highlights and recommendations from this year’s edition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reflections from the UBS Global Consumer & Retail Conference that took place last week in New York. We invite three UBS experts, including US Hardline/Broadline and Food Retail Analyst Michael Lasser, to share their insights into the key narratives that emerged both from the main sessions and on the margins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The eighth annual Art Basel & UBS Global Art Market Report, authored by renowned cultural economist Clare McAndrew, once again provides a comprehensive, macroeconomic analysis of the state of the global art market in the preceding 12 months. We discuss the findings with McAndrew, Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz and UBS Global Wealth Management chief economist Paul Donovan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We mark International Women’s Day by taking a deeper dive into a report from the Chief Investment Office (CIO) of UBS Global Wealth Management, which explores how women can realise their lifetime investment goals. With Marianna Mamou, head of advice beyond investing in the UBS CIO. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Takeaways from the 2024 edition, which took place in Key Biscayne, Florida, last week, featuring key industry figures discussing the state of the sector, the dynamics of the year so far and the direction of travel. We get a summary of the event from Brennan Hawken, who covers capital markets in the equity research department at UBS, and Erika Najarian, who heads large cap bank research. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We kick off our coverage of the UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Office ‘ElectionWatch’ series. These reports take the US investment temperature in the build-up to November’s presidential election. The edition published earlier this month and authored by our guest, Tom McLoughlin, managing director and head of fixed income and municipal securities for UBS, is titled, ‘Implications of a potential rematch’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The S&P 500 closed above 5,000 for the first time last week, having risen almost 5.5 per cent this year. This follows a more than 24 per cent rally for the benchmark US index in 2023 and means that it has doubled since the pandemic-induced low of March 2020. Kiran Ganesh of UBS explains what this means for investors and discusses the potential effect of the ongoing US general-election campaign. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UBS Global Wealth Management chief economist Paul Donovan joins the show to discuss his blog, The Danger in Round Numbers, and explains why rounding up prices can have an effect that goes beyond people’s pocket books. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Katharine Hayhoe is chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy and a member of the UBS Sustainability and Impact Institute Forum. In this follow-up to our earlier coverage of the Institute’s white paper published at the World Economic Forum, Hayhoe discusses nature-based solutions to climate and biodiversity crises. She explains how the world must invest in and work with nature to address these challenges for the sake of current and future generations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A special edition of the programme explores how to close the education disadvantage gap in the UK. The system fails many young people, with the gap in outcomes between richest and poorest deeply entrenched and even widening in certain regions. Joining us to explain how they’re addressing the challenge, and why collaboration is critical in driving enduring change, are five very special guests: Steve Rotheram, metro mayor of the Liverpool City Region; Sarah Payne, UK head of social impact and philanthropy at UBS; Graeme Duncan, CEO of Right to Succeed; Justine Molyneaux, CEO of Involve Northwest; and Steve Morgan, founder of housebuilder Redrow, philanthropist and chair of his eponymous foundation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We examine a white paper published by the UBS Sustainability and Impact Institute at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davos. ‘Bloom or Bust: Aligning Technology and Finance to Address Biodiversity Challenges’ sets out the key problems that we face, explores the efficacy of existing solutions and considers the role that a combination of finance, government action and deep partnerships can play in aiding nature’s recovery. Featuring William Nicolle of UBS and Leland Werden of ETH Zürich. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a strong rebound in 2023 that saw top coins increase in value by high-double to triple-digit percentages, what lies ahead for crypto assets? Michael Bolliger and Antoinette Zuidweg from the UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Office tell us why the new year might bring further opportunities for trading-oriented investors who believe that they can time crypto assets – and why they remain unconvinced, for now, by disruptive real-world use-cases. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concluding our two-part series in which we discuss 2024 and beyond, we consider the themes set to define the next decade, with insights and observations from Paul Donovan, Kiran Ganesh, Antoinette Zuidweg and Tony Petrov. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kicking off a special two-part edition in which we look ahead at 2024 before expanding our horizons and considering the themes that might define the next decade. Featuring insights and observations from Paul Donovan, Kiran Ganesh, Dominic Schnider, Antoinette Zuidweg and Tony Petrov. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the season of giving in full swing, we take a timely look at the space with UBS Head of Social Impact & Philanthropy, Tom Hall. Tom explains what exactly his team means by “making an impact” and how collaboration amplifies successful outcomes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2023 is subtitled: “Changing of the guard: The coming era of wealth succession and the drive for greater purpose”. Max Kunkel, CIO for global family and institutional wealth within UBS Global Wealth Management, joins the show to discuss the findings, including the fact that – for the first time in nine editions of the report – billionaires have accumulated more wealth through inheritance than entrepreneurship. Kunkel explains how a new cohort of multigenerational families is taking shape, how this generation has its own views on legacy and ambition – and why this requires increasingly sophisticated solutions for succession planning and defining common values. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The last in a short series of programmes discussing some of the key panels and themes from the 2023 UBS European Conference. Beatriz Martin, head of non-core and legacy at UBS, joins us to reflect on her conversation with Cherie Blair in London. Up for discussion were women’s economic equality, the importance of mentorship and the issues facing female entrepreneurs today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.