JPMORGAN MERGES PRIME BROKERAGE AND CUSTODY PLATFORMS

Posted September 9, 2009

NEW YORK – JPMorgan has established the Prime-Custody Solutions Group, a team responsible for delivering the firm’s integrated prime brokerage and custody platform to clients, integrating its prime brokerage and custody groups to serve hedge funds and asset managers with a combination of prime brokerage capabilities and securities services.

“Challenging market conditions have underscored the importance of partnering with a prime brokerage that can safeguard assets in a separate depository,” says Devon George-Eghdami, Managing Director and head of the new unit. “Building on our industry-leading prime brokerage and custody businesses, we are expanding our product offering and delivering those shared benefits to clients in a more efficient manner.”

JPMorgan’s creation of the Prime-Custody Solutions Group comes at a time when hedge funds are launching long-only funds and seeking structures that allow them to house certain assets with custodians, while traditional asset managers are executing long/short strategies that require financing through a prime broker. Among other benefits, JPMorgan’s integrated approach is designed to streamline client on-boarding, improve execution and collateral management, reduce financing costs, and consolidate reporting.