Investment bank UBS posted its best quarterly results in three years today to beat expectations and called an end to the bear market that has punished equity investors around the globe.
Rising revenues in investment banking and wealth management combined with falling costs boosted UBS's third-quarter net profit to $1.22 billion.
"It's obviously true that the bear market is over," chief executive Mr Peter Wuffli said in a conference call after releasing third-quarter results.
UBS saw $10.9 billion in inflows into its flagship wealth management division, its strongest quarterly inflow ever.
Total assets under management rose to $1,593 billion at end-September from $1,583 billion at the end of June.
The world's biggest asset manager has a track record of beating expectations and has earned a solid reputation by generating profits during the market downturn of the past three years.
Analysts have been eager for proof that UBS is equally well positioned for a world stock market recovery. UBS said its investment bank saw revenues in the fixed income, rates and currencies business rise 30 per cent from a year ago, boosting the unit's pretax profit to $704 million.
That result was in contrast to rivals such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, where sharp drops in fixed-income trading revenues weighed on earnings.
Losses on UBS's private equity portfolio fell to $54 million before taxes from $305 million a year ago.
UBS shares have risen 22 per cent so far this year, underperforming Credit Suisse's, which have jumped by about half amid market hopes the bank offers more recovery potential.