J.P. Morgan’s ex-global head of rates trading now researching for the ‘public good’

What happens when you’ve been working for J.P. Morgan for ten years and have enjoyed a string of promotions, but are ousted from a top position less than a year after taking it up due to another corporate restructuring?

How about using your internal contacts to take a role in a brand new division aimed at unravelling the mysteries of the U.S. economy for the ‘public good’.

So it is with Kanav Bhagat. He was replaced as global head of rates trading at J.P. Morgan by Charles Bristow and Thomas Pluta in April last year – less than a year after being promoted.

When Bhagat was ousted, he was described as a “unique and strong talent” who was “seeking other opportunities” within the firm.

Now, he’s found them. Or at least, he's found one: as a director of financial markets research in the JPMorgan Chase Institute. This is the bank’s internal think-tank, which seeks to use big data and information gathered from its own customers to create a view of what’s really happening in the U.S. economy. This, it says, is for the “public good”.

The JPMorgan Chase Institute is led by Diana Farrell, who was formerly he head of the Mckinsey Center for Government. So far, it’s published six pieces of research since launching in May 2015 – the latest on income volatility among American households.

Bhagat joined J.P. Morgan in 2006 from Credit Suisse to run the North America interest rate options trading. By the time of his promotion to global head of rates trading, he was leading a team of 150 traders across the globe.

This is a change of direction, therefore.