A trio of Chicago-based advisors with more than $2 billion in managed assets will be joining J.P. Morgan Private Bank, the bank announced Tuesday. The firm also found a team leader for its Winnetka, Ill., office.
Amy Welzer, Jennifer Jones and Steven Hoffmann will be joining J.P. Morgan from Citi Private Bank, and will report to Neal Gram, a managing director and Chicago market manager for the firm. The Chicago market has doubled its assets managed in the past five years and remains a “critical part” of the bank’s expansion plans, according to J.P. Morgan U.S. Private Bank CEO David Frame.
“These new hires are tremendous additions to the team and terrific examples of our commitment to hiring the most client-focused advisors in the industry,” he said.
The trio of advisors collectively have more than 50 years of industry experience. Welzer and Jones are returning to J.P. Morgan; Welzer left the group in 2013 to work with Citi, according to her BrokerCheck profile; Jones left J.P. Morgan for Citi in February of that year, as well. Welzer and Jones both work with ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families on wealth planning strategies, including investments, trusts and estates, and philanthropy. Hoffmann is joining J.P. Morgan from Citi as an associate and banker to also work with UHNW individuals and families.
Gram said he’d had the “great fortune” of working with the duo when they were previously at J.P. Morgan.
“I am thrilled to welcome them back to the firm and look forward to the positive impact the entire team will have in helping clients achieve their most important financial goals,” he said.
The firm also announced Jaime Freeman as a managing director and market team leader in the Winnetka office. With more than 16 years of industry experience, Freeman is joining from BMO Wealth Management, where she worked as a managing director, and will report to Maggie O’Brien, a managing director in both Chicago and Winnetka.
In June, J.P. Morgan Private Bank attracted a set of teams from Wells Fargo and Wealthspire to boost its New York City market, with collective managed assets totaling more than $2 billion. In the greater Chicago area, the bank wants to hire as many as 75 additional advisors in the next five years, having added 60 since the start of 2021. The additions are part of a nationwide plan to add 1,500 advisors by 2026, according to the bank.
