JPMorgan hires ex-Merrill exec, brother of Andy Sieg

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. signage is displayed at its Madison Avenue building in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. JPMorgan Chase is scheduled to release earnings data on January 14. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

For its new head of practice management, JPMorgan tapped an industry veteran with more than one family connection to Merrill Lynch.

Phil Sieg joined the bank this week and reports to Kristin Lemkau, who has been putting her mark on JPMorgan’s wealth management business since taking the helm in December.

Sieg retired from Merrill Lynch in 2017 after 35 years in the business. His brother Andy Sieg runs Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and his daughter Caitlin is a financial advisor with the firm in Chicago.

In his new role, Sieg and his team will provide advisors with improved tools and resources, according to a memo sent to employees from Lemkau. Sieg will collaborate with Chris Harvey, CEO of J.P. Morgan Securities, and Eric Tepper, who oversees the firm’s branch-based financial advisors.

He joins the bank at a time it intends to expand its reach into wealth management. Earlier this year, JPMorgan outlined plans to grab a bigger slice of the market, saying it would increase hiring and leverage digital technologies to boost its reach.

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The bank’s $1 billion annual tech spend is part of its arsenal.

February 26

With Sieg, the firm gains an executive with deep experience in the business. While at Merrill, he served as head of ultrahigh-net-worth client strategy. He also oversaw the firm’s Private Banking & Investment Group, which caters to wealthy clients. Sieg started his career in wealth management as a financial advisor.

Lemkau cited these and other experiences as reasons to hire Sieg. “What impressed me most about him was his clarity of thought, his experience delivering excellence at scale, and that he keeps the advisor’s experience at his heart,” she wrote.

In a nod to the coronavirus pandemic that has upended the economy, Lemkau said that it may be an unusual moment to start a new job, “but few people could hit the ground running like Phil.”

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Career moves Practice management JPMorgan Chase Merrill Lynch
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