Strategy
JP Morgan Revamps US Wealth Arm

The largest US bank is upgrading the wealth management arm of the firm that serves clients with wealth of up to $25 million, a process taking place against a background of intensifying competition on a number of fronts.
JP Morgan is going
after the wealth management space more aggressively, changing its
business units to compete more effectively with rivals such as
Morgan Stanley.
The US bank is creating a unit that will combine its US
wealth-management operations for affluent clients and the Chase
branch network’s financial-advisory business, according to a memo
seen by Family Wealth Report and other media. The restructured
business will also include JP Morgan’s new You lnvest online
brokerage, the memo said.
“The firm’s JP Morgan advisors across Chase Wealth Management and
JP Morgan Securities will become one business unit - US Wealth
Management,” the memo, written by Gordon Smith, who is
co-president and chief operating officer, and Mary Callahan
Erdoes, chief executive of JP Morgan Asset and Wealth Management,
said. “Digital Wealth Management and the You Invest team will
also become part of this business. The combined business will
have [about] $400 billion in assets under management and [about]
4,000 advisors who work out of 3,500 branches and 21
offices.”
The memo said that Kristin Lemkau will become CEO of
US Wealth Management, reporting to Smith, and serving on
Callahan Edoes' AWM Operating Committee. Lemkau had been chief
marketing officer of JP Morgan Chase. She has worked with
Smith and the CEOs of the consumer and community banking
businesses. She’s been at the firm for 21 years.
The bank is competing against banks and technology-driven
start-ups pitching to Millennials and “first-time” investors. The
space is in ferment: Charles Schwab’s recently-announced
agreement to buy TD Ameritrade will bolster the former’s standing
as the largest US discount broker.
The wealth management arm serves the client segment with up to
$25 million of investible assets. JP Morgan’s private bank serves
clients, meanwhile, higher up the AuM spectrum. The private
bank will continue to report to Callahan Edoes and Nicolas
Aguzin as the CEO of International business and David Frame as
the CEO of the US.