UBS Wealth Management US may scrap InsightOne, its fee-based brokerage programme, following the reversal of the “Merrill Lynch rule” that allowed brokers to offer fee-based services to brokerage customers without being regulated as advisors, according to reports in the US media.

Although no final decision has been taken, the possible shutdown, which would affect around 80,000 clients and almost 8,000 brokers was discussed in a nationwide conference call with brokers this week.

The decision to close down InsightOne would see its clients moved into a traditional brokerage account that charges customers on a per-trade basis instead of an annual fee for an unlimited number of transactions.

Clients could also be moved into fee-based advisory programs such as Strategic Advisor or ACCESS, in which financial advisors have a fiduciary relationship with clients and are guided by the US Investment Advisers Act.

UBS is so far the first major Wall Street firm that has openly explored its options amid a reversal of the "Merrill Lynch rule". Such programs are also called wrap accounts.

No decision to shut down InsightOne has been made yet, though, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission has given a 14 May deadline to appeal the court's ruling.