C. S. Venkatakrishnan

Barclays Plc operates as a bank holding company that engages in the business of providing retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management services. The company operates through two divisions: Barclays UK and Barclays International. The Barclays UK division comprises the U.K. retail banking operations, U.K. consumer credit card business, U.K. wealth management business and corporate banking for smaller businesses. The Barclays International division comprises the corporate banking franchise, the investment bank, the U.S. and international cards business and international wealth management. Barclays was founded on July 20, 1896 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational banking and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in the United States by assets, and as of 2012, it ranks as the second largest bank in the world by assets with total assets of $2.509 trillion. It is a major provider of financial services, and according to Forbes magazine is the world's second largest public company based on a composite ranking. The hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase is one of the largest hedge funds in the United States. It was formed in 2000, when Chase Manhattan Corporation merged with J.P. Morgan & Co

JPMorgan Investment Management's (JPMIM) investment approach is based on the premise that building an information advantage and capitalizing on it through active management is the key to investment success. The firm employs global fundamental research, quantitative valuation tools and bottom-up portfolio construction methods. Research analysts evaluate the US market by sector, while globally-based portfolio managers and analysts cover the international capital markets. JPMIM integrates the skills of their research analysts with those of experienced portfolio managers and economists to leverage information and choose the most fundamentally attractive investments. Investments are managed by teams, with portfolio managers working closely with research analysts. Portfolio managers typically purchase first and second quintile stocks while underweighting third, fourth and fifth quintile stocks. JPMIM looks for the stocks and ADRs of US and non-US companies with leadership positions in specialty niches, long-life product cycles, competitive cost structures, diversified client bases and significant insider ownership.