By David Benoit 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (December 12, 2019).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is taking a bigger swing at wealth management, revamping its business units in an effort to better compete with big-bank rivals such as Morgan Stanley.

The bank is creating a unit that will combine its U.S. wealth-management operations for affluent clients and the Chase branch network's financial-advisory business, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The restructured business will also include JPMorgan's new You lnvest online brokerage, the memo said.

JPMorgan is facing an industry where big rivals and hot startups are fighting to appeal to millennials and first-time investors. Charles Schwab Corp. announced last month it would buy TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., cementing its hold in discount brokerages.

The change positions the bank to have one set of operations for clients with up to $25 million in assets. (JPMorgan's private bank for ultrawealthy clients will remain separate.) The new unit will be headed by Kristin Lemkau, currently the bank's marketing chief, the memo said. The bank plans to name a new head for its marketing efforts in the coming weeks, it added.

JPMorgan Chief Executive James Dimon has long said he wants to strengthen the bank's wealth-management business, a strategy that has helped smooth out the earnings of other big banks. In his annual letter to shareholders in early 2018, he said he saw "no reason" the bank couldn't double its market share in this area.

But JPMorgan's fragmented approach to targeting clients has made that difficult. The new structure is more in line with Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill or Morgan Stanley, but those banks employ thousands more advisers than JPMorgan.

JPMorgan has in recent years targeted affluent clients with offerings such as its Sapphire credit cards and Chase Private Client, which provides financial advice inside branches to customers with around $5 million or less in assets.

Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2019 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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