JPMorgan forms special advisory group to share some of bank’s ‘secret sauce’ with clients
The traditional role of an investment banker is to advise on deals and financing. But JPMorgan’s bankers have recently begun to realize that customers want more from the firm; for example, how the country’s largest bank drives artificial intelligence or what cybersecurity practices it uses.
Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon had an idea: formalize a group that would give certain clients access to much of JPMorgan’s “secret sauce.” They’re calling the initiative “Private Advisory Services,” which launched Monday and is headed by Liz Myers, who also serves as global head of investment banking.
“These capabilities are on par with or better than some of the specialty consulting firms in the market,” Myers said in an interview with CNBC. “We think this can help senior managers be more effective in their roles and learn from our best practices.”
JPMorgan It has identified several dozen adjacent capabilities to offer clients, from investor relations to real estate selection, healthcare benefits to technology sourcing. Initially, the company does not plan to charge for these services. However, if the client wants a more time-consuming project or an ongoing service, they can negotiate some type of fee structure.
The services are aimed at customers who “have or want to have deep, long-term relationships with the firm,” the company said in a press release. This group could include “companies that view JPMorgan as a leading IPO advisor, long-term clients preparing for conversion deals, or growing mid-market clients looking to use JPMorgan as their primary business bank,” according to the statement.
“More than two-thirds of our experts are in-house face-to-face people; their No. 1 job is to make sure they deliver for our firm,” said Myers. “They are a valuable resource to some extent, so we have to be careful about who gets it.”
A 30-year veteran of the firm, Myers previously served as global head of equity capital markets and will work with advisory teams and experts across JPMorgan in his expanded role. He said initially the Special Advisory Services group would consist of “a handful” of people. And if there is a large increase in customer demand over time, the firm can scale it.
JPMorgan is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings next week. LSEG estimates that JPMorgan generated $9.44 billion from investment banking fees for the year to December 11, ranking the company No. 1 globally with wallet share of 7.4%.
