July 10, 2026
JPMorgan is moving further down the M&A market. The WSJ reported that the bank is creating a team focused on small-cap companies valued between $100 million and $500 million. John Richert will help oversee the effort, and the strategy is partly tied to baby boomer business owners thinking about succession.
A founder-owned business in that size range may need advice on selling, bringing in private equity, passing ownership to family, or waiting for a better market. It is not the same as advising a public company board on a multibillion-dollar merger, but it is still real advisory work. Every few years, it seems like large investment banks decide they can increase deal flow by going smaller. Then a few years later, many of them revise the plan and decide the better use of senior banker time is to focus on larger mandates. That tension is part of why this move is worth watching.
Why Students Should Care
For recruiting, the useful point is not just that M&A may come back. It is that banks are still looking for new fee pools, and small-company succession is one place they see activity. That gives you a cleaner way to talk about deal flow than only repeating league table numbers.
Students should not only follow the biggest announced deals. Pay attention to where banks are adding teams, shifting coverage, and trying to find the next set of clients.