Global Head of Research, J.P. Morgan
Large organizations aren’t known for their ability to be nimble, but it’s a trait that Joyce Chang, global head of research for J.P. Morgan, has fought to instill across the bank’s more than 900-member research department.
“The financial services industry is facing constant disruption, whether it is due to market fluctuations from global macro cycles, as well as the changes in market structure due to regulation and the advance of technology,” she said. “Adaptation is key to staying No.1 as it is more challenging to stay No. 1 than to become No. 1.”
The difficulty of remaining on top may be on Chang’s mind, because in 2017, for the first time, J.P. Morgan’s global research team earned top honors in Institutional Investor’s ranking of research firms.
That honor arises, in part, from Chang’s push to incorporate machine learning and natural language techniques into the production of research publications, a change that is allowing her team to automate the production of many day-to-day reports, including earnings notes and model updates. This helps her global team generate in excess of 140,000 reports, models, updates and alerts annually.
With that much data and information flying around, it’s important to strip away as much extraneous distraction as possible, allowing analysts and clients to quickly and easily find what they need to inform their next decisions.
Such streamlining is an ongoing goal for Chang.
“Everyone can do something in a less bureaucratic way and sometimes simplification is the best innovation,” she said. “It’s essential to avoid complacency and continue to focus on efficiency in a large organization.”
