Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., spoke during a Bloomberg Television interview at the JPMorgan China Summit in Shanghai on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Once behind in online investing, JPMorgan Chase now sees itself as a leader.
On Friday, the bank plans to introduce new features that will let investors research and buy bonds and brokered certificates of deposit through its mobile app, according to a CNBC report.
Clients can customize their experience by setting up screens and comparing bond yields within the same app or web portal they use to check their account balances, JPMorgan executives stated. This initiative aims to strengthen the bank’s appeal to investors who trade a few times monthly.
“Our goal was to make it incredibly easy for clients who want to buy fixed income,” said Paul Vienick, head of online investing in JPMorgan’s wealth management division. “We’ve adapted the straightforward approach used for [buying] stocks and ETFs to the fixed-income sector.”
JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S. by assets and a leader in many financial sectors, is still relatively small compared to other online brokerages. Although it has seen growth by adding features like fractional share trading, the institution has only recently surpassed $100 billion in assets under management, as per CNBC.
This figure is quite modest compared to online investment leaders like Charles Schwab, Fidelity, or E-Trade, which have had decades to attract investors and enhance their platforms.
Getting Focused
The bank previously tried to capture more self-directed investors by launching a free trading service in 2018 called “You Invest,” which was promoted with significant visibility at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
However, by 2021, JPMorgan recognized that the brand wasn’t resonating as intended and shifted to simply naming it the Self-Directed Investing platform.
At that time, with approximately $55 billion in assets under management, CEO Jamie Dimon candidly remarked on the product’s status during a financial conference.
“We don’t even think it’s a very good product yet,” Dimon expressed to analysts. “So we’re developing that thing.”
The bank’s strategy adjustment included hiring Vienick, a seasoned professional from TD Ameritrade, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America in October 2021 to revamp its approach.
“We recognized that in wealth management, we need to catch up,” Vienick said in a recent interview at the bank’s midtown New York office.
This strategy also includes managing more wealth for affluent Americans through financial advisors in physical branches, which was aided by JPMorgan’s acquisition of First Republic in 2023. The bank serves half of the 19 million affluent households in the U.S., but only captures 10% of their investment funds.
The industry now understands that providing effective online tools is essential, even if the previous focus was primarily on human advisors who generate higher revenue by offering additional services.
About half of the users who have a financial advisor also invest independently using online tools, Vienick noted.
Aiming for $1 trillion?
The bank is now targeting more engaged investors, those who research and buy stocks regularly and prefer to purchase bonds directly rather than through mutual funds.
Currently, the bank offers customers up to $700 when they transfer funds to its self-directed platform.
In addition, the bank is exploring options to enable users to make after-hours stock trades, according to Vienick.
This effort is part of the bank’s goal to encourage existing customers, or those with JPMorgan credit cards, to consolidate their financial activities with the firm. This will allow them to view their financial status in one place and transfer funds between accounts seamlessly, Vienick explained.
With its extensive branch network, strong finances, and Dimon’s reputable leadership, Vienick is optimistic that JPMorgan will eventually rank alongside the larger online brokerages.
“I genuinely believe that the self-directed business, outside of core wealth management, can grow into a trillion-dollar industry,” Vienick stated. “Achieving this will require dedicated effort and the provision of what clients seek.”
Read more: JPMorgan Chase is targeting higher-end clients to attract America’s wealthy individuals
