Analysts and industry figures believe Robert McCann, the newly installed boss of the wealth management arm of UBS in the US, is the right man to lead the unit.

The emerging industry consensus on Bob McCann, UBS’ new Wealth Management Americas chief, charged with turning the troubled division around, goes something like this:

The man has one hell of a tough job ahead of him.

If anyone can right UBS’ sputtering wealth operation in the US, he can.

Despite his protestations, a sale of the unit remains very much an option.

The last point, of course, is very much tied to the first two.

UBS’s myriad  legal and operational problems has been well publicized.

But less light has been shed on what may be the most critical factor regarding the future of UBS’s wealth business in the US  - how Mr McCann’s Swiss bosses, particularly UBS chief executive Oswald Grubel, really feel about it.

Mr Grubel, after all, the former head of Credit Suisse, just took over at UBS this year and was not part of the banking giant’s ill-fated decision to buy Paine Webber nearly ten years ago.

He has never said UBS’ Wealth Management Americas is indispensable to the future of the global banking giant, which is increasingly focusing on business in Asia, and has never ruled out the possibility of a sale.

In fact, earlier in the year, Mr Grubel implied a sale of the unit may be just a matter of timing, saying, “It wouldn’t make sense to sell at current valuations.”

Nor is there a reservoir of goodwill toward the US brokerage business among veteran UBS executives.

“They like private banking, but there’s not a tremendous love for the brokerage business because culturally it’s very different from what they’re used to, and the IRS offshore banking fiasco has exacerbated those tensions,” said a former high level UBS wealth management executive who has spent time in Zurich and asked not to be identified.

“The problem UBS now has is that while they can improve private wealth, it’s only a small part of the business, and they can’t grow the retail business fast enough organically to catch up with their rivals. I think ultimately they want to sell.”

At the very least, a sale will be seriously considered, said Alois Pirker, senior analyst for the Aite Group in Boston.

“Ozzie is new to the retail space and McCann knows it well,” Mr Pirker said. “The question McCann will most likely be asked is: ‘Does it make sense for us to be in this business?’ If the answer is yes, the next question is: ‘What do we need to do and what will it cost?’ And if the cost is too high, they will look at the next best option, which has to include a sale.”

Mr McCann’s most daunting challenge, according to Mr Pirker, comes down to simple math: UBS, which has approximately 7,800 advisors in the US, is far behind its three major rivals in the wirehouse universe. Wells Fargo Advisors, newly combined with Wachovia, has 21,500 financial advisors, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has over 18,000 and Merrill Lynch has over 15,000 of them.

“If they can’t be in the top three, my guess would be they’re not interested,” Mr Pirker said. “Being the best of the middle-tier doesn’t sound like UBS. The dilemma for them is that organic growth won’t get them there and I’m not sure they have the appetite for a major acquisition right now.”

Nor is anyone expecting UBS to put its own Wealth Americas division on the block before 2011.

What then, will - or must - Mr. McCann do?

At a UBS investors event in Zurich last week, the former Merrill Lynch wealth management head vowed to “strategically re-engineer the business” and present a comprehensive new strategy by the end of the first quarter next year.

To help devise and implement the new strategy, Mr. McCann has already brought in a team of his former top lieutenants from Merrill, including Brian Hull, John Brown and Paula Polito.

Advisers will be key to the strategy, Mr. McCann told the investors.

He criticized the wealth management division in the US for lacking “a culture of execution,” and vowed to improve adviser retention and productivity, while at the same time scrutinizing expenses, including large signing bonuses for brokers.

But Mr McCann has also acknowledged the need to act quickly, and there is no quicker way to boost assets, the lifeblood of the business, than to sign up big earners with bulging books of business.

And reports are circulating that UBS is indeed keeping pace in the recruiting wars with rivals who are said to be offering top brokers eye-popping packages of as much as 300 per cent of their previous year’s fees and commissions.

“The numbers I’m hearing are astonishingly high,” said one industry executive who asked not to be identified.

Mr. McCann is more likely to achieve his budget cuts at the expense of the product companies, such as mutual funds, that do a heavy volume of business with UBS.

And focusing on high and ultra high net worth clients will undoubtedly be the key to achieving the bank’s goal of a 15 per cent pre-tax profit margin for the wealth management unit.

Indeed, Mr McCann is widely considered to be the right man to lead a UBS turnaround.

“He has a tremendous reputation as a motivator and a leader,” said Harry O’Mealia, chief executive officer for Baltimore-based Legg Mason Investment Counsel. “He can train talent and people like working for him. I think there’s a high degree of optimism that McCann gets it, he’s one of us, and can lead us in the right direction.”

But where will that direction lead?

“The question is,” Mr O’Mealia said, “is his appointment a sign of commitment to the business? If it is perceived as that, he has a great opportunity there. If not, it won’t be so easy.”

Since his appointment last month, Mr McCann has made sure to publicly declare UBS’ commitment to wealth management in the U.S. at every opportunity. He did not respond to interview requests last week.

But the lure of fast-rising wealth in Asia may make a struggling US operation very disposable for the Swiss bank, industry observers say.

No matter which direction UBS chooses to go, Mr McCann still faces the monumental challenge of fixing a once-proud business badly bruised by scandal, low morale and political in-fighting.

“If anyone can pull it off, it’s McCann,” said Michael Schiff, senior relationship manager for PNC Wealth Management. But I wonder if the monster is too big even for him.”

“The political and operational difficulties he faces are unique to UBS,” noted Jamie McLaughlin, chief executive of New York-based Geller Family Office Services.

“Few in the wealth management business have ever inherited a bigger challenge.”