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Succession's Roy family may not have found a happy ending, but at least they have a place to [SPOILERS] stash all those billions from their big sale.
JPMorgan is slowly but surely expanding the services of internal unit 23 Wall, a division dedicated to managing the wealth of the uber-rich, according to a report Tuesday from Bloomberg, expanding its reach in one of banking's most hotly contested corners.
Ultra-Wealth Makes Health
When we say uber-rich, we mean it. 23 Wall doesn't have a minimum wealth threshold, but that's because it's an "if you have to ask what the unlisted price is, you can't afford it" type situation. The unit is tailored to servicing the world's richest 0.01%, or, more specifically, roughly 700 families worth more than $4.5 trillion, division head Andy Cohen told Bloomberg.
And, surprise surprise, it's a clientele group that just keeps getting richer. Inflation, deteriorating supply chains, and Jerome Powell's rate-hiking campaign have left a scant impact on society's upper-crust -- so far this year, the 500 richest people in the world have seen their collective wealth increase by roughly half a trillion dollars, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Wealth management has now long been considered an important driver of growth for banking's biggest players. It's no wonder, then, that JPMorgan is diving headfirst in the race to win the ultra-wealthy's trust (and trusts):
- The division now houses offices in over 12 cities across six countries, with roughly half of its clients coming from outside of the US.
- "Our typical clients have portfolios of public and private assets, real estate and a vested interest in community and philanthropy, all with an ever-increasing interest in private deals," Cohen told Bloomberg.
Still, the unit is just a part of the bank's overall push into the lucrative world of wealth management. Last year saw roughly one new client a day with assets worth at least $100 million, Mary Erdoes, JPMorgan's CEO of asset and wealth management, said at last week's investor day, adding that in the past 10 weeks alone, over 40,000 new accounts have been opened in JPMorgan's private bank. They may not have taken any pleasure in Silicon Valley Bank's implosion, but they sure are benefiting from it.