Curious about a move? Secure multiple offers now by completing the form below.
We can make this commentary long or short. It is up to you how far you want to read. But here is the short version for (now former) First Republic advisors – get out of there now. J.P. Morgan is a name that might resonate with clients, but that’s it. That is literally all they bring to the table.
Do you want to know what else they bring to the table? Read on…
J.P. Morgan just purchased your clients and their assets. They consider them theirs now. And you will be herded into one of two camps that exist at the worlds largest bank: J.P. Morgan Private Bank or J.P. Morgan Securities. Both of which are extremely suboptimal and not worthy of the career you’ve built or the value that First Republic was offering your practice and your clients.
First, the Private Bank. If your new overlords decide that you and your clients should decamp into this division you are headed towards a comp plan that you no longer control (salary and bonus), new team members will be bolted onto your team without your explicit approval, and the amount of managerial input on your daily activities will be unprecedented. You will be a banker. You will push J.P. Morgan product first and foremost. You will make quotas on an annualized basis. You are no longer in control of your growth or career arc.
Second, J.P. Morgan Securities, oof. Just take a quick look at the amount of advisors that have left that dying division over the past two years. Anybody with a book that will travel and annualized revenue above $1M has bolted for competitors. A former JPM Securities advisor once told us, “even the offices at JPMS are old and out of date, the tech stinks, no support… and any meaningful client relationship above $10M could instantly get taken and sent to the Private Bank division.”
As previously mentioned, you could’ve stopped after the first paragraph. While JPM offered FRB a lifeline, they did so for the assets, not for you or your talent. You will be folded into the machine with zero regard for you or your clients preferences. If you previously left Merrill for FRB, we promise you this is much, much worse.
Have the recruit and competitor conversations, hit the bid below, and leave before signing anything that ties you to J.P. Morgan.
