J.P. Morgan picks up a Pimco big – again

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has tapped its second Pimco exec this month to help expand distribution. The firm has hired Bob Fields, a former senior VP and municipal bond manager at Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC, to oversee West Coast sales of J.P. Morgan's fixed-income products to advisers. Mr. Fields' new title will be executive director and client portfolio manager in the tax-aware fixed-income group — a new position, said Connie Plaehn, managing director and head of the fixed-income wealth advisory team at J.P. Morgan. The firm has been staffing up its retail wholesaling force aggressively. Since mid-2009, the firm has increased its sales force by over 50%. This growth also has included hiring reps targeting registered investment advisers in the West Coast — an area of expertise for Mr. Fields, Ms. Plaehn said. “We have been talking on and off for three years,” she said. Mr. Fields will report to Ms. Plaehn. Also now that J.P. Morgan's parent, JPMorgan Chase & Co., has converted the Washington Mutual Inc. branches into Chase branches in the wake of its 2008 acquisition, the firm sees a lot of opportunity to expand its fixed-income presence, Ms. Plaehn said. As part of that acquisition, JPMorgan Chase inherited 730 Washington Mutual branches in California. Mr. Fields starts May 9. Mark Porterfield, spokesman for Pimco, didn't return an e-mail and call about how the firm will replace Mr. Fields. Mr. Fields is the second Pimco exec that J.P. Morgan has hired in the past month. As reported on InvestmentNews.com, J.P. Morgan hired Lee Beck, a former senior VP at Pimco, to oversee sales with key party distributors. Ms. Plaehn said the two hires are merely a coincidence, and the firm isn't targeting Pimco with its recruiting efforts.