We don't know if George Gatch is feeling picked on, but if he is then the feeling is certainly understandable. It's not everyday that the New York Times questions the capabilities of a top mutual fund executive, but today is one of those days.

The New York Times' DealBook contributing reporter Cyrus Sanati writes that:

While Mr. Gatch helped to build the bank's mutual fund practice from the ground up, he has little experience selling more sophisticated products, a person close to the situation told DealBook.

This move has surprised many in the company who were looking to report to a person who had more of an institutional background, this person said.

Gatch is getting a bigger job later this year when he will report to Clive Brown. The promotion is no surprise to us (Gatch was number 26 on the MFire.com's Forty Most Influential People in Mutual Distribution List). Brown ran JPMorgan's international investment management unit and now occupies the newly created position of global chief operating officer of the entire investment management division.

Last June, word surfaced in the trade press that Gatch will succeed Eve Guernsey as head of the investment management business in the Americas when she retires at the end of the year.

Sanati also mentioned JPMorgan's ETF ambitions [see The MFWire.com, 03/11/2010] and the company's plans to hire more sales reps and "change the pay structure as it carries out the international expansion." 

Edited by: Armie Margaret Lee


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