Headhunters and financial advisors are circling embattled Swiss bank UBS, eyeing a possible exodus of wealth management talent as the bank faces further criticism from the activist shareholder and former UBS president Luqman Arnold. UK-based financial advisor Jason Butler, partner at Bloomsbury Financial Planning, said he was working for two existing UBS cash management clients and said the bank’s problems would generate more work for his business, according to Citywire. Brian Steeples, managing director at Turris Partnership, another UK advisor, said companies like his stood to benefit. Executive search firms are watching UBS for a potential rush of managers trying to hit the exits. According to a report by Financial News, one headhunter said: “Clients would not blame their advisors for quitting UBS. They could easily move to another bank for a premium and take the bulk of their book of business with them.” Another was quoted as saying: “UBS bankers at all levels are queuing to get out.” Meanwhile, Mr Arnold has stepped up his criticism of the Zurich-based bank, attacking what he called the "hasty and flawed" process which last week led to the appointment of an insider as chairman, according to Dow Jones. Mr Arnold also clarified that he and his investment firm is not demanding an immediate sale of the UBS investment banking arm. "We did not state categorically that the investment bank should be sold or spun off, partly because it would not be possible in this market," Mr Arnold said in the letter to UBS board member Sergio Marchionne. Mr Arnold’s first letter late last week was widely interpreted as a call for UBS to be split up. In the latest letter, Arnold called for a greater separation of UBS' investment banking and private banking arms. He has called on UBS to name an independent, Swiss executive to replace outgoing UBS chairman Marcel Ospel, and for at least one board member to step down in order to make room for a new chairman. Mr Arnold's investment firm, Olivant, is to meet UBS over the next two weeks for talks, according to the Financial Times. UBS last week announced a $15 billion recapitalisation programme to strengthen its finances after reporting heavy first-quarter write-downs linked to the global credit crisis. Analysts at Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley, for example, both have underweight recommendations on UBS’s stock.