Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Blythe Masters Article: JP Morgan set to take on commodity giants with Sempra buyout

This January 2010 Business Daily Africa article detailing the purchase of RBS Sempra Commodities for an estimated $4 billion by JPMorgan Chase Commodities Business headed by Blythe Masters:

"For decades, two names have dominated the $4 trillion world of commodity and energy derivatives trading: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. If Wall Street power woman Blythe Masters has her way, a third will soon be making it a troika: JP Morgan."


"The former credit derivatives wunderkind who has built JP Morgan’s commodities business into a true global powerhouse in just three years is on the cusp of buying RBS Sempra Commodities for an estimated $4 billion, bringing an unusual but highly successful hybrid trading operation —one that carefully mixes customer-flow business with prop-trading risk — under the well-capitalised JP Morgan umbrella."

The article continues on to describe the full ramifications of the purchase, potential hurdles, and the like.
"It would be a career-crowning coup for British-born Masters, at 40 one of the most successful women on Wall Street"
"Masters, a Cambridge-educated derivatives expert and avid amateur horse rider, was drafted into commodities from the Chief Financial Officer role in early 2007 after JP Morgan’s first major foray into energy markets went awry."


Read the full article on Sempra Commodities acquisition here.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Blythe Masters on JPMorgan's EcoSecurities Buy

Blythe Masters was interviewed in this Reuters article about JPMorgan's purchase of EcoSecurities in 2009.  She stated that the purchase "was based on its large pre-2012 portfolio of carbon offsets (estimated in August at around 100 million tonnes), its post-2012 portfolio (around 125 million) and any upside associated with a surge in carbon prices."  
"Even if only the first source of value inherent in our valuation of the company, i.e. its pre-2012 portfolio, were the only thing to come forth we would end up being very happy with our acquisition," Masters said in an interview late on Monday....
Commenting on managing risk:
Masters said the acquisition would help JP Morgan clients better manage risks in fluctuating commodity prices. 
"The reason for our expanding in the carbon space is consistent with our overall thesis that commodity markets as a whole will continue to be extremely active and volatile ... as a function of economic activity and other policies," she said. 
"Carbon is just a part (of JP Morgan's business model), and an important component because of its linkages to the rest of the energy complex and to various regulatory changes going on." 
Masters said a new EcoSecurities CEO will be named soon, "and from there we will review the overall structure of the company to make sure we don't have any overlapping activities that are confusing to clients".
Read the full Blythe Masters EcoSecurities article here.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Harvard Business School's Women's Association of Greater New York

Blythe Masters has participated in events hosted by the Harvard Business School's Women's Association of Greater New York, most notably a seminar entitled 'What Does it Take to Make it?: A Discussion with JPMorgan's Women Leaders'.  This event, hosted at JP Morgan, featured the following speakers:
  • Blythe Masters, Managing Director, Head of Global Commodities
  • Melissa Moore, HBS '92, CEO of Treasury Services
  • Jennifer Nason, Managing Director, Global Head of Technology, Media and Telecom Investment Banking
The event was hosted and moderated by Julia Kirby, Senior Editor of Harvard Business Review.

Read the full biographies of all the participants in the Discussion with JP Morgan's Women Leaders.

About HBS Women's Association of Greater New York
The HBS Women's Association of Greater New York is a charitable organization established by and for alumnae of the Harvard Business School who live and/or work in the Greater New York area.  Our mission is to provide education to alumnae and the broader community about women in leadership and to raise scholarship funds for a current HBS woman student.  Our programs facilitate the exchange of information, experiences, tools, guidance and support to enable HBS alumnae at all stages of their lives and careers to fully realize their individual personal and professional goals.   

source: http://www.hbswany.org

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Blythe Masters in Daily Pennsylvanian - Businesswoman credits luck, attitude for success

Today we're reproducing an article that appeared in the Daily Pennsylvanian several years ago about Blythe Masters visiting a group of young students at the Wharton School as a part of the Musser-Schoemaker Leadership Lecture Series

You can read the full Blythe Masters Daily Pennsylvanian article here.

"Thirty-six-year-old British-born Blythe Masters, whose accent still echoes her origin, went from rags to riches.

The chief financial officer of JP Morgan, who credits much of her success to luck and attitude, spoke with about 60 students yesterday.

"You can't underestimate the power of luck," Masters said. "But luck is something people can help manufacture for themselves."

Masters acquired her first "grown-up job" as an intern with JP Morgan in London after she graduated from high school. English students often defer college for a year, and Masters said that she was penniless at the time and figured that the internship was a way to finance a trip she had wanted to take to Latin America.

Through this experience, she said that she "fell in love with derivatives as a concept" and has continued to work with them for most of her career.

Derivatives are used by companies to decrease risk in their investments.

"It's important to maintain passion and energy in what you do. Don't give up till you find that thing you're passionate about," she said. "For me, that thing was derivatives."

Masters' move from London to New York City in order to pursue her career was a "big, unanticipated change" at the time, she said, owing to her status as a divorced mother with a young daughter.

She didn't let that stop her as she worked her way up the corporate ladder on Wall Street with the help of many mentors.

Masters credited her opinionated and aggressive nature for her success.

"You're responsible for making yourself noticed," Masters said. "You need to habitually be engaged, doing your homework and standing up for yourself."

Dennis Yu, a senior in Wharton and the College, said that he has heard Masters speak before and considers her a dynamic orator. Yu, who is currently considering a full-time job offer from JP Morgan, felt that Masters' story was inspiring.

Wharton junior Ayeesha Sachedina was one of the organizers of this event.

"I'm glad [Masters] was honest," Sachedina said. "These events are not for recruiting but more about what [these leaders] learned through their careers."

The event was part of the Musser-Schoemaker Leadership Lecture Series, which brings in leaders from both the public and private sectors to share their secrets to success."

The Wharton School of Business was the world's first collegiate business school, established in 188.  It is the largest and one of the most published business school faculty, with 250+ standing and associate members - one of if not the top business school in the country.

Monday, August 1, 2011

SIFMA: Blythe Masters, Chair Emeritus

Blythe Masters, SIFMA Chair Emeritus
Blythe Masters is Chair Emeritus of SIFMA, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. SIFMA's mission is to bring together the shared interests of hundreds of securities firms, banks and asset managers in order to develop policies and practices which strengthen financial markets and which encourage capital availability, job creation and economic growth while building trust and confidence in the financial industry.

Click here to watch a short video about SIFMA that includes interview excerpts with Blythe Masters as well as other SIFMA executives.  The video includes information about SIFMA's perspective on changing regulations in the financial system and the salient challenges facing the banking industry.

ABOUT SIFMA
SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA).

"We seek to empower individuals, organizations, and communities to make educated, informed decisions about financial issues, policies and practices for themselves and others. We accomplish this by providing trustworthy, relevant information, opinions and tools that reflect the expertise and standard of excellence of SIFMA."

SIFMA HISTORY
The origins of SIFMA go back to 1912 with the founding of the Investment Bankers Association of America (IBA) two years after the American Bankers Association rejected a request by a group of members to start an investment banking section.

In 1971, IBA merged with the Association of American Stock Exchange Firms (ASEF) to form the Securities Industry Association (SIA) and unify the voices of the related interests. Following the merger, the Public Securities Association (PSA), comprised of IBA’s Municipal Securities and Government Bonds Committees (est. 1918), incorporated as an independent organization representing securities firms and banks in the municipal, Treasury and federal agency securities markets. The name of the PSA was changed to The Bond Markets Association (TBMA) in 1997.

In 2006, the SIA and TBMA merged, bringing together the shared interests of their memberships. By representing the many segments of the financial industry, SIFMA has become the voice of the financial industry that is uniquely suited to provide trusted and expert information to policymakers, regulators, media, industry participants and the general public about the financial industry.

source: http://www.sifma.org/