JPMorgan's ETF Head Bryon Lake Departing

Bryon Lake, who has led JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s ETF business for the past three years while its JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) soared in popularity, is departing the firm, according to published reports.

JPMorgan, which oversees $150.5 billion in 61 U.S. exchange-traded funds, didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment. The departure of London-based Lake was first reported by CityWire.

Lake has most recently overseen the growth of the New York banking giant's active ETFs, as demand surges for that type of fund that typically charges higher fees than their passive counterparts. Active funds are grabbing customer assets from mutual funds, and in recent years have grown at 20% annually, according to Morningstar.

In October, it announced the launch of the JPMorgan Active Bond ETF (JBND), which has grown to $218.9 million in assets. Lake also announced in July that the company was converting four mutual funds to active ETFs. The conversions coincide with the company becoming the No. 1 firm year-to-date in net active flows across U.S. active ETFs, according to data from JPMorgan.  

Lake on "Hot Streak" With Active Funds

Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said Lake has been on a hot streak with low-cost active funds, and another firm may be quick to grab him.

“If you were looking to lead your ETF business, he has to be on a very short list of people you think of,” he told Bloomberg News. “He really combined high-quality brand-name active for a more Vanguard-ian fee and that is a powerful combination.”

Vanguard Group, the No. 2 U.S. ETF issuer, on March 1 said that Chief Executive Officer Tim Buckley will retire from the company after six years in the role and 33 years at the asset manager.

Lake's LinkedIn page said he spent 7 years at JPMorgan, all of them in the ETF business, and most recently as Managing Director, Global Head of ETF Solutions. He was at Invesco for 11 and-a-half years before that. He earned a Bachelor's degree in International Business at Taylor University in Indiana in 2002. 

"Bryon Lake has informed us of his intention to leave the firm and we wish him well in future endeavors," JPMorgan told CityWire.