JPMorgan to Invest $200 Million in Films: Report

The New York investment bank said Monday it will use subordinated debt for investments such as film and television financings, acquisitions and print and digital media start-ups, according to NYTimes.com.

JPMorgan has placed more emphasis on the film sector recently, hiring former Sony Pictures Entertainment executives Alan J. Levine and Ken Lemberger to head its new JPMorgan Entertainment Advisors division.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the strategy of investing its own capital comes as JPMorgan is seeking to bulk up in an area that has long contributed to the earnings of other Wall Street firms. Goldman Sachs regularly pumps up its earnings through proprietary trading and investing its own capital in everything from power plants to golf courses. Last year, Goldman racked up more than $25 billion in revenue from trading and principal-investments activities, The Journal said.

Aside from the movie industry, JPMorgan has moved to put its own cash into in real-estate and energy deals, The Journal said.

-Samantha Chang is the executive editor of TheImproper.com. She previously was the associate editorial director of High Net Worth Inc.