Today should be a highlight day of George Gatch's career. He is chairman chairman of the GMM planning committee, a role that puts him literally center stage in front of the industry. It is also a role that recognizes the industry leaders of the moment.

So this morning's news out of Reuters would be the last thing Gatch wanted to break on the early morning of his big day.

It seems that the SEC sent J.P. Morgan Asset Management subpoenas recently. The legal interrogatives are the latest in its two-year investigation into the money center bank's mutual fund sales practices.

Gatch is the CEO of the JPMAM business, and as a distribution and business guy -- not a PM -- he is the author of the strategy that has propelled the bank up the fund industry sales ranks.

It was JP Morgan team that revealed receipt of the subpoenas in an SEC filing this week. In it, they also revealed investigations by non-SEC regulators. JPMAM officials also disclosed that the bank's top brass is "responding to and cooperating with the relevant authorities."

The breaking news leaves Gatch himself is in Washington, D.C. in front of some 1,200 industry peers and the gathered media just hours after he delivered the welcome speech yesterday afternoon marking the ICI's 75th anniversary at the annual General Membership Meeting. It may be an interesting couple of days at the the Marriott Wardman Park with more bubbling than just the bottles of champagne being handed to attendees entering the event.  

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE