Canadian leader shares his vision for the business
The Canadian ETF industry continues to show resilience and growth, despite headwinds, as highlighted by the recent stats from SIMA. And JPMorgan Asset Management intends to play a key role.
The Canadian unit of the Wall Street stalwart recently announced the expansion of its active ETF lineup with the launch of JPMorgan US Core Active ETF (TSX: JCOR) as many investors and advisors seek ways to identify new growth and value opportunities for portfolios.
Wealth Professional has been speaking with the firm’s Travis Hughes, head of Canada to find out more about plans for growth in the next few years, some 42 years after it first entered the Canadian market.
This will continue to focus on the firm’s three of our lines of business: Institutional, Sub-Advisory, and Advisor.
“We will continue to launch active ETFs, SMAs, and private market alternatives in areas where we believe we have a competitive advantage,” shares Hughes. “Our service model is designed to deliver bespoke, white-glove service to our partners. Our goal is to be viewed as an extension of their investment process and a key partner.”
The cornerstone of the service model is the firm’s Market Insights Program, designed to provide real-time access to JP Morgan’s thoughts on the key factors impacting the markets and global economy.
The Canadian ETF industry and market is mature by comparison to many others, frequently leading the way on innovation. But what does Hughes see as the path ahead for JPMorgan Asset Management and how will it seek to differentiate itself from more established players?
“The Canadian ETF industry continues to experience impressive growth. We feel fortunate to be a participant and look forward to continuing to be an active and engaged member of the community in the years ahead,” he says. “We are committed to building long-term relationships with our investors and providing solutions that help them achieve their goals. We do not manage Canadian equity or fixed income and will continue to be a partner to the many great managers in these areas.”
Hughes believes that active and passive strategies should both play a role in portfolios, but his firm is only focused on one side of the equation.
“We are an active manager and have dedicated 100% of our resources and energy to building global investment platforms that can generate excess returns,” he says.
Another area where Hughes sees his firm’s expertise winning in the Canadian market, is alternatives and he says they will continue to bring select global alts strategies to the market with the appropriate structure for Canadian investors.
“Potential areas include Private Credit, Infrastructure, and Real Estate,” he says.
And with technology playing an increasingly important role in competitive advantage for investment management firms, does he anticipate a deeper use of AI within the business?
“With an annual technology budget of $17 billion, we are strong believers in the power of technology, particularly in how it can make us better investors and deliver superior results for our clients. AI, LLMs, etc., are examples of tools that we use in our research and portfolio management process. However, we believe that there is an important human element that is also crucial, and therefore, we have no plans to offer a fully "AI" driven strategy in the market,” he concludes.
