UBS AG

UBS AG, Europe's largest bank by assets, reported record fourth-quarter profit. Net income more than tripled to $4.97 billion. Earnings included a 3.7 billion-franc gain from the sale of four Swiss units to Julius Baer Holding AG. Profit from continuing operations rose 36 percent and the stock has gained 44 percent in the past five years.

Total revenue in the fourth quarter rose 21 percent to 13.87 billion francs, with a 26 percent increase coming from the bank's main wealth management division in Switzerland, Europe and Asia, and a 15 percent gain from bank investment .

UBS, the world's biggest money manager, announced that the profit from investing funds for wealthy clients in Switzerland, Europe and Asia rose 37 percent to 1.12 billion francs in the quarter. Earnings from the U.S. division almost doubled to 83 million francs.

UBS announced that it will begin to invest in areas such as U.S. wealth management and fixed income trading. It also plans to start its eighth-straight buyback program in March and may repurchase as much as 5 billion francs of stock. The bank may also consider acquiring companies that oversee the wealth of the richest Americans.

UBS plans to spend more than $100 million over the next few years to strengthen its investment bank in areas including fixed-income, commodities and energy trading, emerging markets and securitization.