JPMorgan’s First Republic Culture Clash Comes Home to Roost

JPMorgan has one of the world’s most successful private banks. Its lending capabilities, alternative investments, global reach and brand recognition make it a formidable competitor for wealthy clients.

But what many advisors outside the firm and clients may not realize is that there are really two very different private wealth businesses at the firm: the Private Bank and the traditional brokerage channel, J.P. Morgan Advisors.

P. Morgan Advisors operates as a separate, smaller division within the broader organization. It represents roughly 2–3% of the business and has often been viewed as a lower priority internally. Frequent management changes and persistent advisor retention challenges have contributed to instability. Its technology is build around the private bank and no the advisor division, and advisors work within a particularly restrictive compliance and legal environment.

.A prime example followed JPMorgan’s acquisition of First Republic Bank in May 2023. Advisors were told that a separate high-net-worth boutique division would preserve First Republic’s distinctive culture. In my view, those promises predictably went unfulfilled.

We warned advisors that the security and resources of the nation's largest bank would come with trade-offs. We questioned whether First Republic's entrepreneurial culture could survive inside a much larger, more bureaucratic institution and whether advisors would retain the flexibility they had enjoyed.

Three years later, those concerns are playing out.

A culture clash: reflection of the past, indication of the future

In May 2023, we published *The Arranged Marriage 2.0: Pros and Cons for FRB and JPM*.

At the time, we acknowledged the considerable advantages of JPMorgan's balance sheet, global brand, lending capabilities and sophisticated wealth management services.

But we also raised concerns about what would happen when advisors accustomed to First Republic's boutique service model were absorbed into a highly regulated institution with standardized policies, more layers of management and less flexibility.

First Republic was known for getting things done for wealthy clients. The firm's advisors had considerable latitude to address complex requests and customize solutions.

JPMorgan's model was fundamentally different, with more centralized decision-making, compliance requirements and institutional controls.

In July 2023, we returned to the subject in an article titled *"We Are Staying at JPM – How Bad Can It Be?"*.

We warned advisors to prepare for a culture shock, particularly around compliance, surveillance, account-opening procedures and the ability to conduct business as they had at First Republic.

The latest departures suggest those differences remained important.

The departures since then suggest those differences have been difficult for some advisors to overcome.

Some have chosen to join competing wirehouses. Others have taken the more significant step of establishing independent firms, giving themselves greater control over technology, investments, business decisions and the client experience.

And some have opted to forgo outside financial backers altogether, an indication of just how highly they value their autonomy.

The Cost of Waiting

We also warned that remaining at JPMorgan could make it more difficult and expensive for First Republic advisors to leave later.

In 2023, we cautioned that retention contracts, deferred compensation, recruiting loan obligations and restrictive provisions could diminish advisors' flexibility to change firms.

Those concerns were not theoretical.

The recent departure of two of JPMorgan's largest teams came at a substantial financial cost. The advisors faced repayment obligations on unvested recruiting loans from their First Republic moves and potentially forfeited significant deferred compensation.

There's a lesson here for advisors considering a retention agreement: The check you receive today can become a very expensive reason to stay tomorrow.

I hear the same concern from advisors at banks industry-wide: “I don’t want to leave and be viewed by clients as chasing a check.”

My response is that staying for a check isn’t necessarily different from leaving for one.

We don't suggest that all retention offers are bad deals. But advisors need to consider what happens if the firm's culture, resources or strategy changes during a long contractual commitment.

The cost of leaving shouldn't dictate whether an advisor can continue serving clients the way they believe is best.

The Private Bank Question

Another concern we raised in August 2023 was JPMorgan's emphasis on its Private Bank.

In *First Republic Advisors – JPMorgan's Priority Is the Private Bank: Is This Enough Juice for You?*, we questioned whether traditional commission-based advisors would receive the same attention, resources and opportunities as the bank's salaried private bankers.

JPMorgan has one of the most successful private banking businesses in the world. But its model is built around institutional relationships, with multiple specialists working with wealthy clients and the bank controlling many aspects of the relationship.

That can be an excellent model for clients. It may be less appealing to entrepreneurial advisors accustomed to building and managing their own businesses.

We can't say whether competition with the Private Bank factored into Scott and Atwood's decision. But their move to a self-funded RIA with multiple custodians reinforces the importance some advisors place on controlling how their businesses operate.

For teams serving ultra-high-net-worth clients, access to resources matters. So does the ability to decide how those resources are delivered.

Not Everyone Has Left, But the Pattern Is Clear

To be fair, JPMorgan has retained a substantial portion of First Republic's wealth business.

In December 2024, the bank said it had retained approximately 75% of the acquired advisors and clients. JPMorgan offers considerable resources, a globally recognized brand and banking capabilities that many independent firms cannot easily replicate.

For many former First Republic advisors, the platform may be a good fit.

But there has also been a steady stream of departures, including some of the largest and most productive teams. In April 2024 alone, six J.P. Morgan Advisors teams representing nearly $16 billion in assets left on a single day, five of which had come through First Republic.

The departures have continued into 2026, with advisors moving to competing wirehouses, regional firms and independent platforms:

• $18.6 billion — Latigo Peak Partners, October 2026: Two of J.P. Morgan Advisors' largest teams, led by Phil Scott and Jim Atwood, launched an independent RIA with 48 employees. The former First Republic teams generated a combined $130 million in annual revenue.
• $3.1 billion — Wells Fargo Advisors, February 2026: The Weikes Slattery Group, led by Elizabeth Weikes and John Slattery, joined Wells Fargo in New York with four support staff. The team generated approximately $17 million in annual revenue.
• $1.5 billion — Morgan Stanley, May 2026: TruCore Advisors, led by Christopher Lee and Joseph Minaudo, moved to Morgan Stanley in New York with four support staff.
• $5 billion — RBC Wealth Management, April 2025: The Degenaars Babb Group, led by Glenn Degenaars and Jason Babb, left for RBC in New York. The former First Republic team included a third advisor and eight support staff.
• $1.2 billion — RBC Wealth Management, January 2025: The Pensato Slayne Group, led by Arthur Pensato and William Slayne, joined RBC in New York with four support staff. Both advisors had come to JPMorgan through First Republic.
• $5 billion — Citizens Private Wealth, April 2024: A former First Republic team led by Rick Gordon and Hugh Beecher joined Citizens in San Francisco. The team had generated around $20 million in annual revenue.
• Nearly $5 billion — Cresset, April 2024: Two former First Republic teams joined Cresset in San Francisco. One was led by Dagny Maidman, with approximately $3 billion in assets, while another led by Chris Chase and Erik Ralston managed around $2 billion.
• $3.5 billion — Merrill Lynch, April 2024: A former First Republic group led by Salvatore Tiano and John Smyth joined Merrill in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The team included six advisors, generated around $15 million annually and moved with six support staff.
• $1.3 billion — Wells Fargo Advisors, April 2024: The Rizzo, Apple, Schneider and Langbert Group left J.P. Morgan Advisors for Wells Fargo in Palm Beach, Florida. The four-advisor team generated approximately $9.3 million in annual revenue.
• $500 million — LPL Financial, June 2024: Former First Republic advisors Tim Woodall and Dustin Raring launched Highway One Capital in Newport Beach, California, through LPL's Strategic Wealth Services platform.
• $500 million — Rockefeller Global Family Office, July 2024: Former First Republic advisor Jeffrey Titus left JPMorgan for Rockefeller in Boston with two support staff. His practice generated approximately $4 million in annual revenue.

While the circumstances of each move differ, complaints about technology, bureaucracy and restrictions on how advisors conduct business have surfaced repeatedly.

These were not necessarily advisors struggling to grow their practices. Many had built highly successful businesses but decided that the platform no longer fit how they wanted to operate.

And in some cases, they were willing to incur substantial financial costs and the disruption of another transition to make a change.

The Takeaway

The questions we raised in 2023 remain relevant today.

How much control will you have over your business? Will the firm deliver the technology and resources you need? Can you maintain the client experience that helped build your practice? And what will it cost if you decide the platform is no longer right for you?

In 2023, we warned that the biggest risk for First Republic advisors wasn't necessarily the compensation they would receive for staying. It was what they might have to give up—and what it could cost them to leave later.