By Alexander Saeedy
JPMorgan Chase is building out a new team inside its investment bank to help companies raise private capital as an alternative to going public, a sign that America's biggest bank thinks the private markets will remain dominant even with some mega IPOs expected later this year.
The details
The public stock markets just aren't what they used to be. There has been a general decline of initial public offerings while more companies are opting to raise money from big investors and remain private companies. Private-equity firms have also been holding on to their portfolio companies for longer, often transferring them into new "secondary" funds instead of selling to another firm. And institutional investors are intensely focused on the private markets and have raised huge sums to invest there.
While this year looks like it might be a big comeback year for IPOs, JPMorgan is taking the view that there has been a structural shift in how companies are choosing to raise money.
"The private markets have just dwarfed the public markets lately," said Keith Canton, co-head of equity capital markets in the Americas, who will helm the new team. "Historically, you only needed to think about an IPO or a sale as an exit. But there's much more you can do in the middle."
The new team inside JPMorgan, called Private Capital Advisory and Solutions, will be a hybrid group offering mergers-and-acquisitions advice while working alongside the capital-markets division.
Executives said the team plans to connect investors with companies that are looking to raise private capital. And bankers will advise clients on raising early stage equity, preferred stock and convertible bonds. They will also work on secondary funds and other avenues for private-equity firms to raise money.
While the bank might not earn hefty fees from helping private companies, it gives them a relationship ahead of a potential sale or eventual IPO, where the payouts can be substantial.
The context
Some of the biggest and most valuable companies in the U.S. are private. The biggest stock sale in 2025 was a $40 billion offering by OpenAI that was available to only the investors handpicked by the company's executive team, including Sam Altman himself. Fewer than 50 investors snagged shares.
To cater to this growing part of the economy, JPMorgan has been building out a private-credit initiative, and its research team inside the investment bank is now covering private companies.
Some of the moves are meant to ensure the bank stays relevant with these companies, who don't rely as much on big banks to raise capital as their public counterparts.
"We're better aligning our business to reflect trends in the markets," Kevin Foley, global head of capital markets at JPMorgan, said. "We want to be in front of the client saying, 'We don't care what product you pick. Just pick JPMorgan.'"
The expansion of private markets has led to some calls to reinvigorate public markets, including from the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins. Market watchers warn that the growth in private markets means that only those with wealth and access will benefit.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon also has been a critic of the growth in private markets over the years. He has blamed regulators for making it too costly for companies to go public, proxy advisers for making it difficult to manage those companies and investors for focusing too much on short-term financial results.
"This trend is serious," Dimon wrote in a letter to shareholders in 2024. "We really need to consider: Is this the outcome we want?"
Write to Alexander Saeedy at alexander.saeedy@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2026 07:03 ET (12:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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