JPMorgan Asset Management on Fast Track Toward Doubling Asia Assets to $600 Billion

By Kimberley Kao

Regional tailwinds have accelerated JPMorgan Asset Management's growth in Asia, putting the firm on track to double Asia-Pacific assets to $600 billion by 2030, according to a top executive.

A year after setting the target, the firm is nearly a third of the way there, said Dan Watkins, Asia-Pacific chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s global asset-management arm.

Speaking at a media summit in Singapore on Tuesday, Watkins flagged China, Australia and Japan as key markets in the asset manager's bid to expand its regional presence.

A significant demand impulse is coming from the wealth space, with huge appetite for alternative assets in the ultrahigh-net-worth segment. JPMorgan Asset Management's regional private-bank assets are up 50% over the past 12 months, propelled by a 40% rise in private wealth alternative investments, Watkins said.

Another growth engine is its regional exchange-traded-funds business, which expanded fivefold since 2022, he said. Last week, the asset manager received approval for its first active ETF in China, which was oversubscribed within one day, Watkins added.

"We're very focused on growing our offshore China business," he said.

Asia offers untapped opportunities for asset managers.

In the region, only 17% of assets across the industry are managed externally, compared with 40% in Europe and nearly 60% in the U.S., Watkins noted.

A backdrop of geopolitical tensions and higher global bond yields is spurring more interest in Asia as investors rebalance portfolios, though Watkins said that the shift isn't tantamount to a "mass exit from U.S. assets."

He also noted an increase in complementary allocation to alternatives like private markets, rather a rotation out of stocks and bonds.

Companies are staying private for longer, creating an opportunity for investors to add exposure to firms that are close to going public, Watkins said.

Yet, as asset managers rush to bring their clients access to private markets, "improved access does not equal liquidity," Watkins said, adding that managers need to be thoughtful about the suitability of products.

For asset managers to be successful, a lot will depend on their operating model.

"Asia is too big, too diverse, too complex to be managed from a distance. You have to be locally managed," he said. "The trick is who can get that local-global mix correct."

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

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October 27, 2026 04:31 ET (08:31 GMT)