J.P. Morgan Private Bank—the recipient of our Community Leadership Award during our upcoming City Fête fundraiser—understands the importance of building connections in local communities. Whether promoting financial literacy through “Chase Chats” at local bank branches, providing guidance to entrepreneurs, or offering philanthropic planning advice, their aim is to help families create the life and legacy they envision for themselves. We recently spoke with Jennifer Marks, the Executive Director, Client Advisor and Market Team Lead for their Long Island office, about impactful giving, investing with intent, and talking to children about money.
We’re delighted to partner with J.P. Morgan Private Bank! How did this partnership come about?
Incidentally, we saw the impact that Children’s Museum had on a colleague and their family and recognized the significance of having an organization like CMEE in our backyard here on Long Island. We wanted to be a part of extending that impact to the broader community. It’s incredibly important to have institutions like CMEE where children of all backgrounds and their families have a place to learn.
Why do you think J.P. Morgan and CMEE are a natural fit for one another?
Through a partnership, we at J.P. Morgan Private Bank can work with CMEE to educate Long Island’s kids and their families, highlighting the themes and topics we are so passionate about – like financial literacy, impactful giving and investing, educating and leaving a legacy for the next generation. It’s incredibly important for our employees to be involved in their communities and give back – it is in our DNA as a firm to support local nonprofits, invest in our communities and invest in the people that work with us. This only helps us understand how to help our clients give back as well – it is so closely tied to the work we do at the Private Bank around philanthropic planning and advice. Partnering with the Children’s Museum is a natural extension of the work that the firm does to invest in our community and the next generation. It is wonderful that we have the opportunity to join forces going into 2020.
Can you describe the work you do at J.P. Morgan Private Bank for your Long Island clients?
Long Island is full of families, entrepreneurs and business owners that are creating great wealth, leading businesses through a late-stage economic cycle, and are looking for advice on how to use this wealth to achieve their goals. We help our clients bank, borrow, and invest with intent, and help them realize the future they want to plan for themselves, future generations of their family and the legacy they want to leave. We also focus heavily on guiding individuals and families through the periods of transition they experience throughout their lives – that may be selling their business, establishing a trust or moving their family to a new place.
Why is it so important for J.P. Morgan to be connected with the year-round East End community?
It’s very important for us to stay engaged with the community year-round because this is their home, year-round. Long-term planning and financial health is something families think about year-round. Very often, it is at home that people reflect on what is most important to them, what they want their lives and their family’s future to look like.
We’re here to deliver the advice that they look for in an advisor. So much of banking is digital today, but across the community people need advice and we’re here to engage with them, in person or otherwise, where they live and work and at an institution they trust.
Can you recommend any resources that might help parents talk to their children about the importance of financial literacy?
Teaching your children about money can be one of the hardest exercises for a parent. It can be an uncomfortable or challenging topic, no matter what your experience with money and wealth is. Working with our clients, we encourage them to discuss learning about money and managing it no matter the age of their children – teaching kids as young as kindergarten age about spending, saving, giving and earning is a wonderful time to start, but we stress that it’s never too late to start the conversation. To guide both parents and grandparents, we created a detailed “children and wealth” workbook with concrete tips for how parents can introduce the topic to children as young as three years old. In 2019, the firm also launched “Chase Chats,” a series of small group sessions focused on financial health, at many of our local Chase branches.