UBS Supermodel

The premium enjoyed by UBS over the Swiss bank’s European peers was achieved by it consistently outperforming the rest of the pack – particularly in investment banking. But UBS has been the laggard this year. Can its premium rating be sustained? The investment bank underperformed in the first quarter of 2005 because of a deliberate decision to pull back from trading opportunities due to the uncertainty of the market outlook. And while this caution paid off at the beginning of the second quarter...