UBS has announced a pair of leadership appointments within its South wealth management market, which covers Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The move comes as major wealth management firms continue to compete for advisors and high-net-worth clients across the fast-growing Southeastern United States.

John Houlihan has been named Market Executive for the South Market, where he will oversee both the Private Wealth Management and Wealth Management businesses. Houlihan is based in Atlanta and previously served as Market Director for the firm's Northeast region.

Ian Roth has joined UBS as Senior Market Director, reporting to Houlihan. In this newly created role, Roth is responsible for overseeing the firm's Private Wealth Management business in the South Market. He is also based in Atlanta. The creation of a dedicated Private Wealth Management leadership post signals the firm's focus on ultra-high net worth clients, a segment in which firms including UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley have invested heavily in recent years.

The South Market falls under UBS's Southeast Region, which is led by Regional Director Julie Fox.

"These appointments will further strengthen our wealth management platform in the region. John is a seasoned leader who is very familiar with our culture and capabilities having spent more than a decade at UBS. Ian's new role underscores our commitment to our Private Wealth Management business. Having a focused leader in this role allows us to bring even greater depth and attention to the complex needs of our clients," said Fox. "Our South Market is growing at an impressive clip and we remain focused on investing in this region and providing our advisors with the tools and resources they need to be successful. On behalf of myself and the UBS leadership team, we congratulate John and Ian on their new roles."

Houlihan's career in financial services spans more than three decades, including years of experience in Atlanta. He joined UBS in 2015 and most recently served as Regional Market Director for the Northeast. Before coming to UBS, he was a Regional Director at Barclays, based in Atlanta. He began his career in financial services in 1993 as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley, where over the next two decades he held a variety of leadership roles, including Branch Manager and Complex Director, overseeing markets across New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, and Georgia.

Roth previously spent more than seven years at Goldman Sachs in Atlanta, where he managed the firm's Southeast private wealth business, working closely with Private Wealth Advisors serving ultra-high net worth individuals, families, and institutions. His move to UBS is part of a broader pattern of experienced private wealth leaders changing firms as competition for advisors intensifies across the industry. He brings more than 18 years of experience in financial services, having held managerial and consultative roles at several firms in Atlanta and New York, including SunTrust Robinson Humphrey (d.b.a. Truist Securities), Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America. Originally from the New York area, Roth earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering and holds an MBA from Emory University's Goizueta Business School.