Robert Wolf is a lonely breed on Wall Street. A big Obama supporter, the UBS Chairman of the Americas is leaving to launch his own institutional advisory firm 32 Advisors, DealBook reported Friday. According to the story, though he will no longer work for UBS, he will “continue to accompany its bankers to meetings and help it attract new clients.”
Wolf has been a friend of the Obama family for six years and has done considerable fundraising for the president, something that has continued even as other financial services executives and firms, irked by the Obama administrations attacks on the industry, have switched allegiances to Mitt Romney. According to Dealbook, Wolf’s support of Obama was a contentious subject for some at UBS, and this year, the board of directors made a point of requiring him to get official approval for any statements or interviews with media through the firm’s media office.
According to the website for 32 Advisors, the firm offers boutique consulting and advisory firm serving public and private companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, money managers, governments and other institutions.
The firm’s name is a reference to jersey number Wolf wore on the University of Pennsylvania’s football team. Wolf turned 50 this year, and it is the first time after 28 years on Wall Street is striking out on his own. He has spent his entire career at two companies: Salomon Brothers and then UBS.
Wolf has raised over $500,000 this year to re-elect Obama.