François-Olivier Mercier

Spear’s Review

In his 24-year tenure at UBS, François-Olivier Mercier has mainly focused on syndicate and block trading within capital markets, representing some of the world’s largest companies. In 2023, Mercier transitioned to the bank’s Global Family and Institutional Wealth (GFIW) team where he now leads a London-based division.

The GFIW team supports UHNW clients who often have very well-established family offices and wealth structures, and similar needs to the institutional clients they previously worked with. Mercier describes his services as ‘completely multi-jurisdictional’ and often finds himself working across ‘multiple booking centres’ to manage assets in the most efficient way possible.

‘The division covers our most sophisticated wealth management clients,’ he tells Spear’s. ‘We leverage all the capabilities of our wealth management business, but we also leverage the capabilities of our investment bank and asset management business.’

Adviser Profile

François-Olivier Mercier is a seasoned banking executive with a long-standing track record in investment banking and wealth management. He currently serves as a Managing Director in UBS’s Global Family & Institutional Wealth business, where he leads a specialised team providing bespoke solutions to family offices. In this capacity, Mercier advises prominent family offices on strategic wealth management and capital market initiatives, drawing on his extensive banking experience.

Prior to this role, François-Olivier spent over 20 years in UBS’s Investment Bank, initially joining S. G. Warburg & Co (which later became UBS Investment Bank) as a small and midcap broker, before heading the Equity Capital Markets (ECM) Block Trades business for over 11 years. In 2018, François-Olivier took over the ECM Syndicate business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, overseeing a range of high-profile equity offerings and IPOs across the region. 

Earlier in his career, François-Olivier held roles in corporate development at a prominent hedge fund and was Co-Founder of a UK boutique Investment Bank. His broad experience across investment banking, asset management and wealth management uniquely positions him to advise family offices, combining deep capital markets expertise with a nuanced understanding of wealth management client needs.

François-Olivier holds a Master of Science in Finance degree from the London Business School and a Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.