Julius Baer was founded in 1890 and expanded significantly in 2005 when it acquired three Swiss private banks and Global Asset Management, or GAM, from its far larger Swiss rival, UBS. In 2009 Baer spun off GAM as a separately listed firm. The acquisition of Merril Lynch's wealth management operations outside of the U.S. in 2012 increased Baer's assets under management by 40% and increased its footprint outside of Europe. Julius Baer is currently the largest pure-play private bank in Switzerland and the third-largest Swiss private bank. Baer provides private banking services principally to individuals in Switzerland and Europe and increasingly in Asia and other emerging markets.