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J.P. Morgan Securities, a division of the worldwide financial services behemoth J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., provides investment guidance and management for individuals and wealthy investors, as well as foundations, endowments, corporations and other business entities. The firm offers myriad services nationwide for novice as well as sophisticated investors, allowing clients to decide how involved they want to be in managing their accounts.
The bottom line: J.P. Morgan Securities is the wealth management arm of the massive J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., providing portfolio and wealth management to individual and institutional investors.
| Assets under management (AUM): $188,264,289,046 | |
| Minimum investment: Varies by program | |
| Individual investor to advisor ratio: 114:1 | |
| Fee structure: A percentage of AUM, other (fee based on cents-per-share deposited into an account) | |
| Headquarters: 383 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10179 Website: www.jpmorgan.com/wealth-management/wealth-partners Phone: 800-999-2000 |
All information included in this profile is accurate as of September 24, 2021. For more information, please consult J.P. Morgan Wealth Management’s website.
J.P. Morgan Securities is the brand name for a wealth management business of J.P. Morgan Chase, a publicly traded financial services holding company with offices across more than 60 countries. With roots dating back to 1799 with the founding of the Manhattan Company by major historical figures including Alexander Hamilton, J.P. Morgan Chase operates businesses across many parts of the financial industry, including banking, asset management, securities brokerage and investment advisory services. It is a compilation of more than 1,200 predecessor institutions, including big names like The Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank One, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.
The division of J.P. Morgan Securities employs more than 6,000 investment advisors and researchers to manage close to $190 billion. Most of the firm’s financial advisors are employees of J.P. Morgan, as well as broker-dealer representatives and insurance agents. They offer their advisory services through J.P. Morgan as well as Chase Wealth Management.
The majority of the firm’s clients are non-high net worth individuals. However, the team also serves a number of individuals who are high net worth, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines as having at least $750,000 under an advisor’s management or a net worth believed to be at least $1.5 million.
There is no across-the-board minimum investment required to establish a relationship with J.P. Morgan Securities. Instead, the requirement varies by account type and financial advisor. Certain managed strategies or portfolio managers require an investment of anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000, depending on the program. For example, a customized taxable or municipal bond portfolio strategy can require a minimum investment as large as $500,000 or $1 million. On the other end of the spectrum, a single asset class strategy invested largely in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) requires a minimum investment of just $10,000.
As a registered investment advisor, J.P. Morgan Securities primarily provides investment management and consulting services. Clients can choose from a host of accounts, giving them the flexibility to determine their breadth of investment choices, as well as how involved they’d like to be in the day-to-day management of their account. The majority of the firm’s assets under management are under a discretionary relationship, meaning the advisor does not need clients to approve each trade. However, the firm also oversees assets on a non-discretionary basis.
Tech-savvy investors or those with smaller portfolios can opt for the firm’s digital advisory offering, which is provided entirely on the firm’s websites and mobile applications. Investments are limited to J.P. Morgan ETFs.
As part of the portfolio management process, clients will discuss with their advisors their goals and objectives, such as estate planning, and receive investment guidance to reach those objectives. J.P. Morgan Securities does not, however, offer a la carte financial planning services to non-account holders, such as creating written retirement plans.
Separately, the firm is registered as a broker-dealer, allowing clients to place trades in their brokerage accounts and pay per trade. Most financial advisors at the firm are also licensed to sell annuities and life insurance.
The Private Bank division of J.P. Morgan provides additional services to individual investors, such as banking, lending, assistance with trusts and estates, business ownership, cross border wealth management, executive compensation issues, philanthropy and family office services.
Here is a full list of the services offered by J.P. Morgan Securities:
When clients enlist the firm’s financial advisors as their portfolio manager, the advisors will invest their funds according to their personal investment styles, as well as each client’s financial situation, risk tolerance and objectives.
Advisors can create a custom account for clients that can include many asset classes, such as:
Advisors receive qualitative and quantitative research from divisions within the larger J.P. Morgan Chase universe, which provides information on investment opportunities and guides portfolio decisions. Funds used may include those from the larger J.P. Morgan fund family.
Clients also can work with a financial advisor to recommend affiliated and unaffiliated portfolio managers and specific strategies. Those portfolio managers then make the decisions about how to invest client money. J.P. Morgan Securities regularly reviews the list of managers available in its programs and considers a variety of factors when deciding whether to use a manager.
Finally, J.P. Morgan Securities offers impact investing and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies to its clients, allowing investors to align their values with their portfolio.
Clients typically pay J.P. Morgan Securities for its services based on a percentage of assets under management.
The table below features advisory fees for the firm’s Mutual Fund Advisory Portfolio, Chase Strategic Portfolio, J.P. Morgan Core Advisory Portfolio and the Advisory Program (Portfolio Manager Program and Select Advisory Strategies):
| J.P. Morgan Wealth Management Advisory Fee Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Asset size | Annual fee |
| $0 to under $250,000 | 1.45% |
| $250,000.00 to under $500,000 | 1.30% |
| $500,000.00 to under $1 million | 1.15% |
| $1 million to under $2 million | 1.00% |
| $2 million to under $5 million | 0.75% |
| $5 million to under $10 million | 0.65% |
| $10 million to under $15 million | 0.55% |
| $15 million to under $25 million | 0.50% |
| $25 million to under $50 million | 0.40% |
| $50 million and up | 0.30% |
Other portfolio programs adhere to different fee schedules. The firm’s online advisory program, for example, charges an annual fee of 0.35%.
Most accounts offered by the firm are wrap accounts, meaning the fee the client pays includes investment management, trading costs and commissions, as long as J.P. Morgan is used to execute the trades. Clients still may owe additional fees including fund fees and expenses, transfer taxes, electronic fund and wire fees, IRA and retirement plan account fees, margin interest, foreign stock-related fees or other fees that may come with a brokerage account. The advisory program also offers separately managed account programs that will include additional portfolio manager fees that range from around 0.10% to 1%.
J.P. Morgan Securities has a long list of disclosures related to both the firm as well as individual employees. Registered investment advisors must report to the SEC on their Form ADV if the firm or its employees have faced material legal or disciplinary action in the last 10 years. J.P. Morgan Securities must also disclose all events related to firms they’ve merged with recently, including Bear Stearns in 2008 and Chase Investment Services in 2012.
Some of the more recent actions include:
For more information on the firm, you can go to its IAPD page.
J.P. Morgan Wealth Management has nearly 5,000 office locations throughout the U.S. Because the firm only lists some of these office locations on its Form ADV, you can go to the firm’s office list on its website to see where specifically its offices are.
Further, the firm is registered to work with investors in almost all 50 states, with the exception of Massachusetts. It also has jurisdiction in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
J.P. Morgan Securities offers individuals a long list of investment choices, providing options for fledgling as well as sophisticated investors. Clients can choose among internal and external portfolio managers, single- or multi-asset class strategies, and online or face-to-face advisory services. Additionally, clients can decide if they’d like to make the final decisions on trades, or if they’d like to hand the day-to-day management of the account over to a professional.
Clients should be aware that most advisors with the firm are also registered as broker-dealer and insurance representatives, and thus may benefit from making certain recommendations. Additionally, J.P. Morgan has a large fund family, and the firm may benefit from advisors recommending these funds, presenting an additional potential conflict of interest.
Before you make your decision, take the time to research multiple firms to ensure you find the right advisor for you.
Amanda GenglerAmanda Gengler has been researching and writing about finance for more than 15 years. She honed her personal finance writing as a journalist at Money magazine for a decade.
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