Michael Cembalest
Chairman of Market & Investment Strategy
20 YEARS
Twenty years ago, I asked Michael Cembalest if he would start sharing his insights from our daily
8 a.m. me
eting with our clients. At the time, he worried that his unvarnished take on markets and
the policies driving global trends would not conform to traditional economic publications. Who
would have ever imagined that two decades later, it would grow to become one of the most widely
respected pieces of thought leadership in our industry—“required reading,” as Jamie Dimon puts it.
In celebrating this 20-year milestone, we chose 30 of Michael’s most memorable exhibits, each
offering a window into how far we’ve come—and how far ahead he’s always been looking. Two
decades ago, there were no smartphones, no ridesharing, no social video platforms. The Federal
Reserve’s balance sheet stood at $870 billion—just a fraction of today’s $7 trillion—and the S&P 500
hovered around 1,250, compared to over 5,950 now. Today, artificial intelligence and generative
models are accelerating everything from drug discovery to financial modeling, to rewiring work
in general. And yet, many of the same forces remain at the heart of investment decision making—
capital costs, disruptive innovation and the ever-present challenge of separating signal from noise.
Through it all, Eye on the Market has remained one of the most rigorous sources of analysis in
our industry, marked by clarity, intellectual honesty and a deep respect for the sophistication of
our clients.
To those clients: Thank you for taking the time to read Eye on the Market as part of our collective
navigation of markets, risk management and investment opportunities. Your feedback, questions
and ideas have shaped every edition more than you may know.
And to Michael: Thank you for 20 years of your uncompromising thinking, unconventional framing
of issues and superior mind. We look forward to many more.
Gratefully,
Mary Callahan Erdoes
Chief Executive Officer
J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management
