After more than a year marked by a strategic reset, UBS’s recruiting efforts may be showing their first real signs of life.
The firm has hired veteran advisor Joseph “Clay” Young IV, an $8.6 million producer who had been with Merrill Lynch in Jonesboro, Arkansas, according to an AdvisorHub report. Young, who joined on Friday, managed roughly $956 million in client assets and brings more than three decades of industry experience to the move.
The hire lands in UBS’s South Market under regional leadership and comes with a geographic angle as well. The firm plans to open a new office in Jonesboro later this year, with Young temporarily operating out of Memphis until that buildout is complete.
For UBS, the addition stands out for its size and for what it means to a firm that has spent the past 18 months relatively quiet on the hiring front. It has been recalibrating its U.S. wealth strategy following compensation changes that triggered elevated advisor departures and client outflows.
The firm clearly seeks to signal that the pendulum is swinging back.
UBS in recent weeks has rolled out one of the most aggressive recruiting packages in the industry, with offers reportedly reaching as high as 550% of a team’s trailing 12-month revenue for top producers. Those deals target advisors generating at least $7 million annually, placing Young squarely within the profile the firm is trying to attract.
UBS also recently brought in Ben Firestein to help sharpen its approach to field leadership development and talent acquisition, while also elevating Lisa Golia into a newly created role with direct oversight of the U.S. advisor force. The moves signal a more coordinated push to stabilize and rebuild the firm’s ranks.
It is unclear how directly his move was tied to that structure but doubtful that he obtained a lower deal after headlines about the new industry high-water mark.
Young’s background reflects the traditional wirehouse path. He began his career at A.G. Edwards, later worked at Stephens Inc., and joined Merrill in 2015.
