In a strategic move that blurs the lines between banking, consulting, and operational mentorship, JPMorgan has unveiled an innovative initiative that repurposes its vast internal expertise as a premier client-facing service. The program, known as Special Advisory Services, formalizes the practice of sharing the bank’s own battle-tested playbooks on everything from cybersecurity to real estate management with its most valued corporate partners. This development is far more than a new revenue stream; it signifies a fundamental reevaluation of what clients seek from their financial advisors. The definition of “advice” is rapidly expanding beyond the transactional—mergers, acquisitions, capital raises—to encompass the holistic, operational wisdom required to build and sustain a successful enterprise. By opening its doors and sharing its “secret sauce,” JPMorgan is not only creating a powerful competitive differentiator but also setting a new standard for relationship depth in an industry where loyalty is the ultimate currency. This shift is predicated on several key industry trends, including evolving client needs, the strategic deployment of intellectual capital, and a focus on long-term partnerships over immediate financial gain.
The Blueprint of a New Advisory Model
Genesis and Structure
The impetus for Special Advisory Services emerged organically from the changing nature of conversations between JPMorgan’s senior leadership and its top corporate clients. Increasingly, dialogues steered by executives like Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon were moving beyond traditional investment banking topics. Instead of focusing solely on deal execution or market timing, clients began probing for insights into JPMorgan’s own operational machinery. They sought to understand how a global institution successfully navigates the complexities of large-scale artificial intelligence deployment, defends against sophisticated cyber threats, manages a sprawling international real estate footprint, and designs competitive benefits programs for a workforce numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Recognizing a clear and unmet demand for this practical, institutional wisdom, the bank made the strategic decision to transition from informal, ad-hoc sharing to a formalized, structured offering. This initiative was designed to give qualifying clients direct, curated access to the very experts who run the bank’s internal functions, effectively turning its operational excellence into a tangible asset for its partners.
To spearhead this ambitious venture, JPMorgan appointed Liz Myers, a 30-year veteran of the firm and the global chair of investment banking, whose extensive experience and deep institutional knowledge make her ideally suited for the role. Under her leadership, the Special Advisory Services group operates as a lean, centralized hub, acting as a strategic matchmaker between client needs and the bank’s deep reservoir of internal talent. While the core coordinating team remains intentionally small, its primary function is to unlock access to a vast and diverse bench of internal specialists—the technologists, risk managers, and operations leaders whose main responsibility is the day-to-day running of JPMorgan itself. The scope of the services offered is remarkably broad and designed to address the multifaceted operational hurdles that scaling enterprises commonly face. The menu of capabilities includes dozens of areas, spanning from investor relations strategy and corporate real estate optimization to technology procurement, data infrastructure development, and the intricate governance of cybersecurity defense, positioning the service as a formidable alternative to traditional consulting firms.
Strategic Intent and Exclusivity
From its inception, JPMorgan has articulated that the primary motivation behind the Special Advisory Services is not the generation of immediate, direct revenue, but rather the cultivation of deeper, more resilient strategic relationships. In its initial phase, the high-touch advisory engagements are being offered to select clients at no direct cost, a decision that underscores the firm’s long-term vision. This model prioritizes the delivery of immense value upfront, cementing the bank’s role as an indispensable strategic partner. However, the firm has maintained flexibility, remaining open to negotiating customized fee arrangements for clients who require more resource-intensive, ongoing support that extends beyond the initial scope. This “value-first, monetize-selectively” philosophy is a sophisticated loyalty play, designed to build unbreakable bonds with organizations at critical junctures in their growth, ensuring that JPMorgan remains their primary financial partner for the long haul. The approach signals a shift toward a more holistic, partnership-driven model where the bank’s success is inextricably linked to the operational and strategic success of its clients.
A cornerstone of the program’s strategy is its deliberate exclusivity, which serves to enhance its perceived value and ensure the efficient deployment of the bank’s most valuable assets: its internal experts. Access to Special Advisory Services is not broadly available; it is a privilege reserved for organizations that hold significant strategic importance to JPMorgan. This includes companies that are prime candidates for an Initial Public Offering with JPMorgan as the lead underwriter, long-standing clients embarking on major transformational transactions, or rapidly scaling enterprises poised to make the bank their primary operating institution. This selective approach frames the service as a reward for loyalty and a powerful incentive for deepening the business relationship. By treating the time and knowledge of its top internal operators as “precious resources,” the bank ensures that this expertise is allocated where it can generate the most substantial long-term strategic impact. This scarcity model not only protects the quality and integrity of the advice but also reinforces the premier status of the clients who are invited to participate, creating a virtuous cycle of loyalty and mutual investment.
A Case Study for the Broader Advisory World
Redefining Value for Modern Clients
The launch of JPMorgan’s specialized service provides a powerful and timely case study for the entire independent advisory ecosystem, particularly for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and wealth managers catering to an increasingly sophisticated clientele. The most profound lesson is the undeniable broadening of what constitutes “advice” in the modern era. To maintain a competitive advantage, especially when serving successful business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives, advisors must evolve their value proposition well beyond the confines of portfolio management and financial planning. These clients are increasingly seeking partners who can offer strategic insights into the very challenges they face in their own enterprises: achieving operational scale, implementing robust governance frameworks, and mitigating complex risks. The JPMorgan model demonstrates that the most valuable advisors of the future will be those who can provide a more holistic form of counsel, one that integrates financial acumen with a deep understanding of the systems and strategies that underpin business success. This requires a fundamental shift in mindset from being a financial product provider to becoming a comprehensive strategic partner.
This paradigm shift challenges advisory firms to think more creatively about the full spectrum of their capabilities and how they can be leveraged to serve clients more deeply. For instance, an RIA that has successfully navigated its own rapid growth has developed an internal playbook on technology integration, compliance automation, and human capital management. These operational insights, once viewed as purely internal assets, are now potential sources of immense value for clients who are on a similar journey with their own businesses. By offering guidance on these non-financial yet critical aspects of enterprise building, advisors can forge stronger, more resilient relationships that are less susceptible to commoditization or fee pressure. The key is to recognize that sophisticated clients value wisdom born from experience. An advisor who can share practical, proven strategies for scaling an organization or managing cybersecurity risks becomes far more than a portfolio manager; they become an essential member of the client’s inner circle of trusted counselors, cementing a bond that transcends market cycles.
Leveraging Internal Strengths
JPMorgan’s initiative became a masterclass in leveraging internal intellectual capital, offering a tangible framework for other advisory firms to follow. The central principle was that as an organization grows and matures, it inevitably develops a unique “secret sauce”—a set of proprietary processes, technological architectures, and operational best practices that enable its success. The bank’s model proved that this internal expertise, whether in compliance, technology, or operations, could be strategically repurposed as a powerful external tool for enhancing client relationships. For RIA firms, this meant a call to look inward and inventory their own operational strengths. By identifying what they did exceptionally well internally, they could begin to package that knowledge as a value-added service for their most important clients, particularly business owners facing similar challenges. This approach fundamentally changed the dynamic from a simple service provider to a true strategic partner invested in the client’s holistic success.
This strategic deployment of internal knowledge offered a new pathway for building client loyalty and creating a durable competitive advantage. Instead of immediately launching a new, billable service line, the model championed a more patient, relationship-focused approach. Advisors were encouraged to first use their operational expertise to strengthen ties with key clients, offering proactive insights and guidance without an initial price tag. This act of goodwill not only built immense trust but also positioned the advisor as an indispensable resource, with the potential for selective monetization to follow once the value had been unequivocally demonstrated. The measured, pilot-based rollout was another key lesson, as it highlighted the importance of refining a new offering to ensure quality and build institutional credibility. Ultimately, the success of this strategy demonstrated that a firm’s greatest differentiator in a competitive landscape was not just what it did for clients, but how it ran itself, transforming internal strengths into an undeniable external asset.
