- John Richert has grown JPMorgan’s mid-cap investment-banking group from four people to nearly 300 across 13 U.S. hubs, driving over $1 billion a year in fees on roughly $500 million to $1.5 billion deals (up to about $2 billion).
- He expects a strong 2026 sell-side and M&A wave as private equity needs liquidity and founder-led businesses pursue succession or exits.
- JPMorgan is scaling its business-services vertical, targeting resilient sectors like HVAC, landscaping, and janitorial with a “Power of Fives” push to 5x senior talent and about $500 million in revenue within 3-5 years.
- The strategy relies on local, relationship-led coverage and cross-selling from JPMorgan’s commercial bank, which reaches about 11,000 mid-cap clients.
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JPMorgan’s push into the mid-cap investment banking segment under John Richert reflects a strategic bet that the “middle market” represents underserved opportunity in the evolving financial landscape. Key components of this strategy are scale, geographic dispersion, sector selectivity, and leveraging internal relationships to build sustained deal flow.
Scale and geographic build-out. The group has grown from 4 people to nearly 300, operating in 13 regional U.S. offices outside New York (“Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, etc.”), signaling JPMorgan’s bet that investment banking need not be centralized in traditional financial hubs. This local presence supports deeper relationships and more frequent client interaction, which Richert emphasizes as critical for trust and repeat engagement.
Transaction size sweet spot and seller market. The group targets deals in the US$500-US$1.5 billion range, with mid-cap defined broadly as under US$2 billion. Richert predicts 2026 will see heightened sell-side activity driven by private equity funds that need to return capital, aging founder-owners exiting, and situations where heirs don’t wish to take over operations. These factors suggest an upcoming wave of deals that could benefit institutions with capacity and local reach.
Sector focus and resiliency. Business services—HVAC, landscaping, janitorial, etc.—are targeted because they are stable, less exposed to AI-automation or trade-tariff risk, and represent attractive consolidation targets for private equity. By adding senior bankers (e.g., Erik Carneal, David Sweet, Ye Xia) with deep sector expertise, JPMorgan aims to match advisory capability with client demand.
Revenue & headcount targets (“Power of Fives”). Its plan: multiply senior headcount by five in 2‐3 years; grow business services revenues to US$500 million in 3-5 years. JPMorgan’s mid-cap IB group already expanded ~40 % over the past year to over 250 bankers and completed 175+ deals in 2025. These ambitious targets imply aggressive recruiting and execution discipline.
Challenges and risk profile. Execution risk is high: hiring in competition with Goldman Sachs, UBS, and others; ensuring consistency across regional offices; maintaining culture and client service as scale increases; and dealing with macro risks—interest rates, inflation, candidate supply for talent, and regulatory or policy headwinds (e.g., tariffs, trade uncertainty). Aspirations might strain risk oversight and capital deployment if not managed carefully.
Strategic implications.
- For JPMorgan: If its forecast holds, the mid-cap group could become a major driver of IB fee growth and diversify its earnings base away from large-cap or blue-chip banking. It could also offer cross-sell opportunities through its commercial banking arm.
- For competitors: The model sets a benchmark. Firms that remain centralized or less embedded in regional centers may lose ground with founder-run, local clients.
- For private equity and founders: More competitive deal execution, better advisory access outside NY/finance hubs, and stronger relationships with firms like JPMorgan, offering both advisory and financing expertise.
Open questions.
- Can JPMorgan maintain consistent performance and risk control as it scales regionally, both for deal quality and cultural cohesion?
- Will the macro environment—interest rates, inflation, trade policy—enable or constrain the sell-side activity JPMorgan expects?
- How many senior banker hires will the firm actually achieve, given tight competition for talent, and will they deliver on the revenue assumptions? “Power of fives” is aspirational but executionable?
- What is the competitive response from Goldman, UBS, regional banks or boutique advisory firms who may also be targeting mid-cap founders locally?
Supporting Notes
- Mid-Cap group grew from 4 founders to nearly 300 bankers, generating over US$1 billion annually with 13 US regional offices.
- Target deal sizes are roughly US$500-1.5 billion; deals up to approximately US$2 billion count as mid-cap.
- In 2025, the team closed over 175 mid-cap deals.
- JPMorgan’s Business Services sector plans to ramp revenue to US$500 million in 3-5 years, senior headcount to increase by 5x in 2-3 years under the “Power of Fives” initiative.
- Business services employ ~22.5 million people in the U.S.; sectors like janitorial, landscaping, and HVAC are seen as insulated from AI or tariff risks.
- JPMorgan leverages relationships with ~11,000 mid-cap companies via its commercial banking arm to generate deal flow.
- The group emphasizes local presence: staying embedded in communities, interacting with CEOs locally rather than flying in from New York.
- Richert predicts 2026 will bring strong M&A/sell-side activity due to private equity pressure to return capital, inability to raise new funds in some cases, and founder-owner succession issues.