JPM investment chairman joins Whale-hunting US hedge fund
JP MORGAN’S investment bank chairman Jes Staley announced his resignation yesterday, ending 34 years at the giant firm to become a partner at hedge fund Blue Mountain Capital.
Blue Mountain was set up by a former JP Morgan banker Andrew Feldstein in 2003 and is believed to have made hundreds of millions of dollars betting against derivatives positions taken by the London Whale – a trader who lost JP Morgan $6.2bn (£3.86bn) last year.
He will purchase a stake in the fund, and will sit on the management, risk and investment committees.
Staley is of an age with JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon and it is thought he hoped to rise to the top job. But Dimon has made it clear he has no intention of leaving the bank any time soon, ending Staley’s ambitions in the business.
“I’m very excited to be joining Blue Mountain,” Staley said in a statement. “I want to thank all my colleagues at JP Morgan, my home for the last 34 years, and I look forward to working with them in the future.” It is thought that his position may not be continued.