Core Insights - April's market volatility tested quantitative investment strategies, with US equities dropping 12% over four days before rebounding nearly 10% the next day, revealing weaknesses in some defensive strategies [1] - JP Morgan's equity dispersion strategies performed exceptionally well, with a gamma-weighted S&P 500 strategy gaining almost 15% by the end of April, while the vega-weighted version increased by 2% [2][10] - The bank's approach of hourly intraday delta hedging contributed significantly to performance, adding nearly five percentage points in April [3][7] Performance and Strategy - JP Morgan's equity dispersion strategy has been a top performer, especially when implied correlation fell to historic lows at the beginning of the year [5] - The bank's strategic index business surpassed $100 billion in notional, with a 35% year-on-year revenue increase, driven by a 70% growth in equity volatility strategies [11] - The vega-weighted index was up over 6% by November, even without the hedging contribution, indicating strong underlying performance [10] Client Engagement and Product Development - JP Morgan has seen inflows into its dispersion strategies and broader defensive portfolios following strong April performance [12] - The bank's Nexus platform, with $48 billion in notional and close to 40% year-on-year revenue growth, allows institutional clients to gain synthetic exposure to their strategies [34] - The introduction of intraday tickers on the Vida analytics platform has enhanced clients' ability to monitor dealer gamma build-up and identify intraday opportunities [22][23] Market Trends and Innovations - JP Morgan's alternative trend strategies, which utilize non-standard signals, delivered 20% returns by early November [28] - The bank's emerging markets foreign exchange platform is recognized as best-in-class, covering over 50 currency pairs and doubling notionals compared to 2024 [29] - The launch of an autocallable exchange-traded fund, tracking a new index developed in partnership with MerQube, attracted over $400 million in assets within five months [43]