Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
    • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
    • 2022 WorldPensionSummit
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. MONEY MANAGEMENT
March 11, 2020 04:13 PM

Kansas City pension fund grills J.P. Morgan over racial discrimination concerns

Danielle Walker
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Getty Images/iStockphoto

    A longtime pension fund client of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, New York, said its satisfaction with the firm was "shaken," after a report surfaced in December about alleged racism at J.P. Morgan Chase branches in the Phoenix area, according to a letter obtained by Pensions & Investments.

    Pension fund executives at the Kansas City (Mo.) Public School Retirement System sent a letter to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying its "entire board and staff will continue to watch J.P. Morgan's efforts to restore our confidence and trust."

    J.P. Morgan Asset Management has managed assets for KCPSRS in a special situations fund since 2007, the Feb. 4 letter noted.

    As of Dec. 31, JPMAM managed $13.9 million in assets for the pension fund, Executive Director Christine Gierer said Tuesday in an email. The total fund had $660.6 million in assets at that time, she added.

    Following a published report in December detailing allegations of racism in Phoenix-area branches, Mr. Dimon wrote in a memo to staff that he instructed management to look into the bank's policies, practices and culture.

    "I am disgusted by racism and hate in any form," Mr. Dimon wrote in the memo. "Any such behavior — explicit or veiled, deliberate or unconscious — is unacceptable and does not reflect who we are as a company and how we serve our clients and communities every day."

    While the discriminatory practices reportedly took place in another J.P. Morgan unit, Kansas City pension fund executives determined that "the senior leaders who set the policies and practices for the banking group, also set the policies and practices of the asset management group," said the letter, signed by Ms. Gierer and Horace Coleman, board chairman.

    "After reading the referenced article, and J.P. Morgan's response ... we've been questioned and had to question ourselves whether we've met the goal of being socially responsible investors with the monies we've entrusted to J.P. Morgan Asset Management," the letter said.

    In response to the pension fund's concerns, George Gatch, the CEO of J.P. Morgan's asset management unit, said in a Feb. 10 letter to Ms. Gierer and Mr. Coleman, which KCPSRS provided to Pensions & Investments, that the firm was "addressing this matter with the utmost seriousness."

    "In our asset management business, we serve as fiduciaries to a broad range of clients, including many retirement plans like KCPSRS, dedicated to helping individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life to retire with security and dignity. Maintaining the highest ethical standards and establishing an inclusive environment are cornerstones of how we do business," Mr. Gatch wrote.

    "While we act to drive these principles throughout the company, there are instances in which we fall short of our ambitions," Mr. Gatch added.

    The firm has been reviewing how it can strengthen its existing programs and policies, and its "most senior leaders" have led efforts to take "a deep look at the processes we have in place to ensure that we have a culture built on dignity, respect, diversity and inclusion for our customers and employees," Mr. Gatch said in the letter.

    In response to the client's concerns, J.P. Morgan Asset Management also sent the Kansas City pension fund details about its firmwide diversity and inclusion efforts.

    On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for J.P. Morgan Asset Management said in an email that: "We take this issue very seriously and we are committed to communicating directly with our clients on any areas of concern, as we have in this case."

    Ms. Gierer said Tuesday in an email that the KCPSRS board has reviewed the responses from J.P. Morgan and no further action was taken.

    Bloomberg contributed to this article.

    Related Articles
    Citigroup discloses gender and racial pay gaps, plans raises
    Identify and eliminate racial biases
    It's racial bias, not merely an issue of access
    Recommended for You
    Advisors Asset Management brings on head of institutional and alternatives
    Northern Trust appoints global head of digital assets and financial markets group
    terminated_stamp_1550-main_i.jpg
    American Beacon to terminate 3 subadvisers, close midcap value fund
    ESG: Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    Sponsored Content: ESG: Sustainability - Gaining Momentum

    Reader Poll

    June 6, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Nearing the finish line: Ideas on end-state investing for corporate DB plans
    The Meaning of "Portfolio Intelligence"
    Credit Indices: Closing the Fixed Income Evolutionary Gap
    Forever in Style: Benchmarking with the Morningstar® Broad Style Indexes℠
    Crossroads: Politics, Inflation, & Bonds
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    June 20, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
      • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
      • 2022 WorldPensionSummit