J.P. Morgan Private Bank hires new Houston co-head

J.P. Morgan Private Bank has appointed a new Houston-based head of investment and advice, who will be also co-head the Houston leadership team of the bank.

Fernando Vizcaino was appointed to the position by the bank at the end April. He succeeded Charlie Schwartzel who had left his role two years earlier to take up a new position that involved more direct client interaction. Vizcaino, who has worked with the bank since nearly 15 years and with private banks in the U.S. as well as abroad, is the successor to Charlie Schwartzel. Most recently, he led the strategic development and management of the team in Mexico as the team leader.

Vizcaino, who will serve as a senior investor as well as a coach and mentor for a team consisting of 12 investment experts, will be leading a group of 12 specialists. He will join Kristen Habich who is the Houston market manager of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, and the other leader of the Houston Leadership Team.

Vizcaino stated that J.P. Morgan Private Bank aims to continue expanding its team in Houston. The company reported that the bank has hired 11 new employees in its Houston office. Vizcaino says he's involved in the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the bank. He plans to apply this focus when hiring.

Vizcaino stated, 'We continue to see an opportunity here in Houston. We will continue to grow at the rate that this demand continues to increase.

Vizcaino works with JPMorgan Chase’s Women on the Move program, which is aimed at empowering women and advancing them within the company. He is also working on the Hispanic Wealth Initiative, a program similar to JPMorgan Chase’s Black Wealth Initiative, which aims at building wealth in the Black Community. The program will launch in late this year. It is still at the beginning stages.

Vizcaino, who will take on the role in the near future, said that he is looking forward to addressing the changing needs of the clientele. He said that the clientele of the bank in Houston are getting older, and their priorities have shifted from wealth creation and wealth transfer to wealth preservation.

The younger generation is also changing their investment strategy, focusing more on real estate and innovations. Vizcaino stated that the composition of wealth in the city has changed since the 1970s, and will continue to change as industries such as manufacturing, medical, and technology take away the market share of the energy industry.

Vizcaino stated that one of the best things about Houston is its evolution. Wealth is being transferred and transformed into new investments.