Making Sense

In volatile markets, trade-offs sharpen: pay for certainty now, or preserve flexibility for later. In this episode of Making Sense, Ben Berkey from the corporate derivatives franchise talks with Brian Tramontozzi, head of North American Leveraged Finance Capital Markets, and Kim Hernas, global head of Sponsor Private Side Sales, to discuss how leveraged finance and private markets are weighing the...

How is the role of hedge funds evolving? In this episode of Making Sense, John Schlegel, head of the Global Data Assets and Alpha Group for Prime Financial Services, sits down with Kumar Panja, head of the Capital Advisory Group for EMEA, to unpack what they’re seeing across hedge funds in 2026. From regional outperformance to the strategies attracting fresh capital, they explore how institutional...

Payments decisions now influence growth, liquidity, and risk — often as much as traditional finance levers. In this episode of Making Sense, co-heads of J.P. Morgan Global Payments Max Neukirchen and Umar Farooq explain how payments became a revenue-enabling capability — and what “trust at scale” requires when clients expect instant, seamless experiences. They cover the move toward real-time rails...

One year of advancing economic security and resiliency. And we're just getting started. As the Security and Resiliency Initiative marks its first anniversary, Doug Petno, co-president of JPMorganChase and CEO of the Commercial & Investment Bank, and Jay Horine, global head of the Security and Resiliency Initiative, reflect on the progress made and priorities ahead. This conversation kicks off...

Multi-strategy hedge funds are drawing fresh attention as investors reassess traditional 60/40 portfolios amid higher stock–bond correlations. In this second conversation with Blackstone, Kumar Panja, EMEA head of Capital Advisory Group at J.P. Morgan, sits down with Joe Dowling, global head of Blackstone Multi‑Asset Investing business (BXMA), and Riad Abrahams head of Strategy, Risk and Quant Ana...

Payrolls came in lower than expected in the September jobs report, but topline numbers may not tell the whole story. In this episode of Making Sense, Alexa Hanelin of the Rates team sits down with Michael Feroli, J.P. Morgan's chief U.S. economist, to give a read on the print, unearth what's behind the softness and find where the data may be more encouraging than expected. They also discuss how th...

Tokenization and digital assets are moving from experimentation to real-world implementation, from hype to measurable outcomes. In this episode of Making Sense, Hannah Elson, global head of Custody and EMEA head of Securities Services, sits down with Oli Harris, global head of Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, to discuss what’s changed over the last 18 months: clearer regulation, growing institutional adopt...

For the first time in three years, the overnight federal funds rate is going up, as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to raise rates at its September meeting. In this episode of Making Sense, Samantha Azzarello, head of Content Strategy for Global Research, sits down with Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at J.P. Morgan, to discuss what went into the FOMC's decision, what to make o...

As Treasury yields stay elevated and spreads remain historically tight, rates appear to be bleeding directly into credit — and investors are increasingly viewing credit through a rates lens. In this episode of Making Sense, Brian LaRocca, head of Vida Portfolio Solutions, Americas, joins Benjamin Kinney, global head of Credit and Public Finance Sales, to discuss what a "ratesified" market structur...

Treasury is no longer a back-office function. As businesses navigate increasing complexity, it has become a strategic driver of resilience, decision-making and growth.   In this episode, Roxana Montazerian, EMEA Head of Broker Dealer and Specialty Finance Sales and Sara Castelhano, Head of UK, Europe & Canada Treasury Services discuss how treasury is evolving in response to changing business d...

In this episode of J.P. Morgan's Making Sense, Meridy Cleary from the FICC Market Structure and Liquidity Strategy team sits down with Carlos Gomez-Gascón, head of EM Rates e-Trading, to explore how automation is reshaping emerging market rates trading. They unpack the key difference between electronification and true automation and discuss how automated pricing and workflows can improve speed, tr...

2026 continues to be a record year for equity capital markets globally — and the tech issuance calendar isn't showing signs of slowing down. In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Eddie Byun, global head of Technology Equity Capital Markets (ECM), sits down with Jack Atherton, head of EMEA ECM Market Intelligence, to unpack what's driving this year's spike in activity, why investor demand...

In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Gurps Kharaud, head of Equities, Structuring and Financing Digital Markets, sits down with Rui Fernandes, head of Global Structuring, to unpack how structuring is evolving in today’s markets. They discuss what clients are asking for (more leverage, financing, protection and tailored exposures), as well as the need to keep solutions as implementable as...

In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Michael Johnson, Security and Resiliency Initiative lead for Energy and the U.S. Government, sits down with Ben Wilson, Co-head of North American Mergers & Acquisitions, and Andrew Castaldo, Co-head of Mid-Cap Mergers & Acquisitions, to weigh in on the future of global supply chains. Over the course of the conversation, they cover critical min...

In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Bryan Long, Power Trading and Origination at J.P. Morgan, is joined by Sam Tegel, CEO of ElectronX, to explore why US power has become an increasingly attractive  and tradable product for a growing wave of global market participants. Against a backdrop of surging data center demand, renewable penetration, and grid complexity, they discuss how short-te...

In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Mark Marengo, head of Diversified Industries Investment Banking, sits down with Derek Chollet, head of the JPMorganChase Center for Geopolitics, to unpack what’s changing across defense and aerospace. They discuss where investment is flowing, how emerging technologies are reshaping capability and military readiness and why deeper public-private partne...

Can international equities keep leading as the rally broadens? In this episode of Making Sense, Edwina Lowe from J.P. Morgan's Data Assets and Alpha Group sits down with Federico Manicardi, head of International Market Intelligence, and Jigar Vakharia from the Positioning Intelligence team to unpack the landscape. They look at what’s driving Europe’s strength, why APAC is moving from stabilization...

Inflation is cooling — at least on paper — so why does a night out still feel shockingly expensive? In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, U.S. rates strategist Harry Downie is joined by senior economist Mike Hanson and David Karnovsky, head of the U.S. Media, Entertainment and Advertising research team, to unpack the latest CPI report through the lens of “funflation” — rising costs tied t...

Hedge funds are back in focus as elevated stock-bond correlations challenge traditional portfolio construction. In this episode, Kumar Panja, EMEA head of Capital Advisory Group at J.P. Morgan, sits down with Joe Dowling, global head of Blackstone’s Multi-Asset Investing business (BXMA), and Riad Abrahams, head of Strategy, Risk and Quant Analytics in BXMA. Together, they discuss how Blackstone ev...

What should we make of a weak payroll print alongside a lower unemployment rate? In this episode of Making Sense, Lauren Brice from the North America Rates Sales team sits down with Mike Feroli, Chief U.S. Economist at J.P. Morgan, to unpack the July jobs report and what it implies for U.S. growth momentum in 2026. They discuss why the headline miss may overstate weakness, what steady-but-low priv...

Markets have remained notably risk-on in 2026, even as geopolitical fragmentation, energy chokepoints and intensifying U.S.-China competition continue to raise the stakes for investors and businesses. In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Joyce Chang, chair of Global Research at J.P. Morgan, is joined by Paul Haenle, head of APAC Policy and Strategic Competitiveness at J.P. Morgan, and Ka...

Markets have powered through a volatile first half of 2026, despite geopolitical shocks, commodity swings, a more complex rates backdrop and increased scrutiny on the returns to AI and other growth investments. In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Evan Junek, global head of Corporate Finance Advisory, and Charlie Bouckaert, global head of Advisory and M&A, discuss the factors underpi...

What's the right price for AI stocks? In this episode of Making Sense, Eloise Goulder, head of the Data Assets and Alpha Group at J.P. Morgan, speaks with Helen Jewell, International CIO of Fundamental Equities at BlackRock, about differentiating within the AI trade, and identifying companies with durable earnings power and high return on capital growth, versus simply those trading with momentum....

Gold trading in APAC is evolving quickly, with record volumes, shifting participation and infrastructure upgrades reshaping liquidity and execution. In this episode of J.P. Morgan’s Making Sense, Khushil Nathoo from the FICC Market Structure & Liquidity Strategy team and Ravi Ramakrishnan, senior precious metals trader for Asia, discuss what’s driving heightened activity in gold, how clients a...

Retail participation in Asia is not just significant — in many markets, it’s dominant. In this episode of Making Sense, Eloise Goulder, head of the Data Assets and Alpha Group at J.P. Morgan, sits down with Clare Witts, head of APAC Equity Market Structure, to chart the rise of retail investing and its effect on liquidity and market performance. Witts offers her perspective on concentration in sin...