J.P. Morgan has formed a prime custody solutions group, a team responsible for delivering the firm’s integrated prime brokerage and custody platform to clients.
J.P. Morgan has formed a prime custody solutions group, a team responsible for delivering the firm’s integrated prime brokerage and custody platform to clients.
The unit will serve hedge funds and asset managers seeking 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.’
George-Eghdami, previously the head of Hybrid Capital Trading, is based in New York and will report jointly to Michael Minikes, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Clearing within prime services, and Sandie O’Connor, global head of financing and markets products within treasury and securities services.
The creation of the 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. J.P. Morgan’s integrated approach is designed to streamline client onboarding, improve execution and collateral management, reduce financing costs, and consolidate reporting.
