The arrival of ex-Nutmeg boss Shaun Port at JP Morgan has fuelled speculation about what new project he might take on at the bank with suggestions he could be returning to his private client roots or even launching a robo-advice proposition.
Port (pictured) has joined JPM as a managing director, according to his Linkedin profile, though his exact role at the firm remains unknown.
He left Nutmeg in October after seven years as the firm’s chief investment officer and was integral in fleshing out the robo adviser’s online investment service including its ETF portfolios.
Portfolio Adviser reached out to Port but did not hear back. JPM declined to comment.
Would JP Morgan launch a robo adviser?
CWC Research director Clive Waller thought JP Morgan could be looking to boost assets under management by launching a new proposition such as robo advice. “I expect that this is the plan,” Waller said.
But one City fund manager questioned why JP Morgan would want to “bleed cash in an overcrowded space”. “Far easier to take a stake in any one of about 20 incumbents, including Nutmeg, who were reduced to crowdfunding in their latest fund raising.”
Several investment managers that have waded into the UK robo-advice market have been forced to throw in the towel.
UBS’ attempts to break into the mass market were short-lived as it closed its robo adviser less than 18 months after launch. Investec’s Click & Invest business, which was scrapped in May, did not manage to survive much longer.
The source also questioned why JP Morgan would launch a robo-advice business in the UK over other markets. “Surely start in the US where they have a huge network and customer base.”
Shaun Port’s background in private client
Port could be returning to his roots in the high net worth client space inside JP Morgan’s private banking or asset management divisions, the source told Portfolio Adviser.
Before joining Nutmeg, Port was CIO of BDO Investment Management from 2005 to 2011 where he led the strategy, manager selection and portfolio management on mandates for institutional pension schemes, HNW private individuals and family trusts.
He began his career at Crown Agents Investment Management in 1992, becoming senior economist and head of research, putting together multi-currency global bond and equity portfolios for central banks, sovereign wealth funds and public pension schemes.
Alternatively, the source suggested Port could join the JP Morgan ETF team, although this team does not cater to smaller IFAs and wealth managers. At Nutmeg Port put together ETF portfolios for retail investors.
D2C an unappealing proposition for asset managers
Nextwealth managing director Heather Hopkins thinks it’s doubtful JP Morgan would launch a D2C proposition, having offloaded its savings schemes to Hargreaves and the Share Centre earlier this year.
JP Morgan had been developing a D2C proposition with FNZ back in 2011 but this fell by the wayside.
Waller said UK investors prefer to go through an intermediary like Hargreaves Lansdown, Rathbones or a high street IFA.
Waller said that many asset managers have legacy direct investors from the days when investors would clip coupons in the local paper. But direct investors are not profitable, which is why many fund groups have chosen to “unload them”, said Waller.
