In this hi-tech world of finance, JPMorgan has an old school strategy to woo HNWs

Traditional banks are under attack as challenger brands, mostly fintechs, push their innovative solutions and streamlined customer experience with sharply focused product offerings.

But one of Wall Street’s old guard believes the way to attract more of America’s millionaires is through something that wasn’t developed in Silicon Valley, driven by AI, or offered by the latest unicorn fintech.

JP Morgan Chase believes that it will win over the wealthy with good old fashioned branches.

But far from being a standard banking experience, the locations chosen for the new service tier JP Morgan Private Client are 14 that were added to the firm’s footprint when it acquired First Republic two years ago. Another 17 luxury branches are to follow by the end of 2025.

These branches are in wealthy areas in New York, California, Florida, and Massachusetts, CNBC reports, and have a different feel to the 5000 standard JPMorgan Chase branches with a look more akin to a hotel lobby with pastel shades and artworks – and a concierge service to match.

For clients with at least $750K in deposits and investments, these new JP Morgan Financial Centers will offer a single point of contact for the new tier of service, which is a level up from Chase Private Client.

Wealth management is a key focus, something identified in a recent report as being critical to traditional banks’ revenues and profitability, rather than those driven by balance sheets.  

But Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer banking, knows getting clients to switch is a tough ask.

“Obviously it’s a big challenge, because clients already have their established wealth managers, but it’s something that we’ve been making really strong progress in,” she said, admitting that footfall at the first two branches opened has been slow.

The firm may roll out elements of the HNW-focused branches to standard format locations, especially the 1000 or so that are in more affluent areas. This could see areas of these branches dedicated to the JP Morgan Private Client experience.