J.P. Morgan Private Bank hires staff, opens Salt Lake City office

J.P. Morgan has announced that it is expanding its Private Bank into Utah by opening a local office in Salt Lake City. Financial advisors Brian Swenson and Eric Smith will lead a team of local professionals who provide wealth management advice, strategies and services to successful individuals, family offices, foundations and endowments throughout the region.

“Utah is booming with the second-highest state GDP growth in the U.S., a strong startup community and one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in the nation,” said Barry Sommers, CEO of the Wealth Management Group at J.P. Morgan. “This high-growth market for global families and businesses is a natural next step for the Private Bank.”

J.P. Morgan Private Bank has been serving clients in Utah for more than 17 years and five of the firm’s top advisors have joined the new Salt Lake City team. The office has also hired local talent over the past few months and plans to grow the team to as many as 20 advisors by 2021, the bank said in a release.

The firm’s entry into Salt Lake City is part of a larger expansion of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, which is adding nearly 1,000 advisors across existing Private Bank locations and more than 20 new offices across the United States that will open by 2022.

“Establishing a permanent team in the state demonstrates the Private Bank’s commitment to the Utah business community, strengthens our existing relationships and will allow us to participate directly in Utah’s incredible growth story.” said Geoff Barker, the Private Bank’s Rockies market manager overseeing the Mountain West region and Utah.

Swenson, a Utah native and Brigham Young University graduate, joined J.P. Morgan in 2005 in Denver where he worked with clients across the Rocky Mountain states and assisted in the opening of the Arizona Private Bank office. Before moving back to Denver in 2015, he worked in J.P. Morgan’s San Francisco and Palo Alto Private Bank offices, and most recently was based in London where he opened the Global India Team’s London office and oversaw the investment activities of clients based in the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East.

“Utah’s economic growth comes from various sectors and industries, resulting in diversified wealth creation,” said Swenson. “Within Utah’s growing business ecosystem there’s an enormous opportunity for its citizens to grow their wealth, and we’re here to help amplify that growth and navigate that process.”

Smith, also a Brigham Young University alumni, has deep roots in Salt Lake City. He has worked with clients in Utah for several years, having joined J.P. Morgan Private Bank in 2011 as a banker, responsible for developing and managing relationships with individuals, families, family offices and foundations throughout the state.

“Providing access to the breadth of J.P. Morgan’s global resources will add tremendous value for our clients and the broader Utah market,” said Smith.