Day: September 13, 2024

Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been all the rage on Wall Street since 2023 began, excitement surrounding stock splits has given AI a run for its money this year.

A stock split gives publicly traded companies the ability to superficially alter their share price and outstanding share count by the same magnitude. Splits are surface-scratching in the sense that they don’t change a company’s market cap or in any way affect underlying operating performance.

Although there are two types of stock splits — forward and reverse — investors usually gravitate to companies conducting forward splits. This type of split is designed to lower a company’s share price to make it more nominally affordable for investors who are unable to purchase fractional shares through their broker. Companies enacting forward splits are usually outpacing their competition from an execution and innovation standpoint.

Since 2024 began, a little over a dozen leading businesses have announced or completed a stock split — all but one of which was of the forward-split variety.

However, the outlook for some of these premier stock-split stocks is mixed among Wall Street’s brightest and richest investors. Based on the latest round of form 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, billionaires were decisive sellers of cutting-edge AI stock Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) in the second quarter, but were avid buyers of two other high-growth stock-split stocks.

Billionaires continue to reduce their stakes in Wall Street’s AI darling

For three consecutive quarters, dating back to the start of October 2023, no fewer than seven billionaire money managers have reduced their respective stakes in Nvidia. The June-ended quarter featured seven billionaire sellers, including (total shares sold in parenthesis):

• Ken Griffin of Citadel (9,282,018 shares)

• David Tepper of Appaloosa Management (3,730,000 shares)

• Stanley Druckenmiller of Duquesne Family Office (1,545,370 shares)

• Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management (1,360,215 shares)

• Israel Englander of Millennium Management (676,242 shares)

• Steven Cohen of Point72 Asset Management (409,042 shares)

• Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management (96,963 shares)

With Nvidia completing its largest-ever forward split (10 for 1) in June, these billionaires might have chosen to ring the register and diversify their respective portfolios. But there looks to be more to this story than simple profit taking.

Although Nvidia has undeniably benefited from its first-mover advantages as the standout supplier of AI graphics processing units (GPUs), competition is now coming at it from all angles.

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With the debut of Nvidia’s Blackwell chip delayed by at least three months due to reported design flaws and supply chain issues, and the company’s prized H100 GPU backlogged, it should be relatively easy for external competitors like Advanced Micro Devices to find strong demand for their AI GPUs.

Moreover, Nvidia’s top customers are signaling an eventual reduced reliance on the AI kingpin. Its four largest clients by net sales are all developing AI GPUs that they plan to use in their data centers. Even with Nvidia’s chips maintaining their computing advantage, the writing is on the wall that these customers intend to use their cheaper internally developed hardware.

Billionaires might also be spooked by the persistent insider selling at Nvidia. While not all insider selling is necessarily nefarious (e.g., insiders sometimes sell stock to pay their tax bill), it is noteworthy that not one executive or board member has purchased shares on the open market since December 2020.

Lastly, billionaire asset managers might be concerned about what history tells us. Since the advent of the internet roughly three decades ago, every next-big-thing trend has worked its way through an early-stage bubble. It’s unlikely that AI is going to be the exception.

But while billionaires were showing Nvidia to the door, they were busy scooping up shares of two other high-growth stock-split stocks.

Super Micro Computer

The first stock-split stock that struck the fancy of six billionaire money managers during the second quarter is Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI), a specialist in customizable rack server and storage solutions. These billionaire buyers were:

• Israel Englander of Millennium Management (553,323 shares)

• Jeff Yass of Susquehanna International Group (508,814 shares)

• Ken Griffin of Citadel (98,752 shares)

• Steven Cohen of Point72 Asset Management (45,066 shares)

• Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates (15,777 shares)

• Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management (1,040 shares)

With the stock catapulting to north of $1,200 during the first quarter, it’s not in the least bit surprising to see Supermicro’s board approving a 10-for-1 forward split, to take effect after trading ends on Sept. 30.

However, the prospect of a stock split isn’t the primary draw for billionaires to Supermicro. The lure is the seemingly insatiable demand from businesses wanting to be among the first to capitalize on the AI revolution by training large language models and running generative Ai solutions. To do so, they’ll need the necessary infrastructure in place, which Supermicro can provide.

The company’s operating results have also given billionaires reason to be excited. Net sales jumped 110% to $14.9 billion in fiscal 2024 (the company’s fiscal year ends on June 30), and the midpoint of its guidance calls for $28 billion in net revenue for the current year. This forecast screams that demand is exceptional at the moment.

But it won’t be an easy ride. With its use of Nvidia’s H100 GPUs in its customizable data-center rack servers, and the H100 backlogged, Supermicro finds itself at the mercy of its suppliers.

Furthermore, the company is the target of a short-seller report from Hindenburg Research, which has alleged accounting manipulation. Despite denying these allegations, management did delay the annual filing of its operating results, which did little to soothe investor concerns.

Despite its relatively inexpensive valuation, Super Micro Computer has a lot to prove to Wall Street and investors.

Broadcom

The other stock-split stock that billionaires very clearly favored over Nvidia in the June-ended quarter is AI networking solutions and services providers Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO). Seven billionaire investors took the plunge in the second quarter, including:

• Ole Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global Investors (2,930,970 shares)

• Jeff Yass of Susquehanna International Group (2,347,500 shares)

• Israel Englander of Millennium Management (2,096,440 shares)

• Ken Griffin of Citadel (1,880,740 shares)

• John Overdeck and David Siegel of Two Sigma Investments (1,332,230 shares)

• Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments (865,090 shares)

Keeping with the theme of this list, Broadcom also announced a 10-for-1 forward split (the first in the company’s history), which was completed in mid-July.

Broadcom’s AI ties have certainly been the fuel behind its recent uptick in growth. In particular, the company’s networking solutions are responsible for connecting large numbers of AI GPUs in order to reduce tail latency and maximize the computing potential of AI-accelerating hardware. Presumably, demand for its AI networking solutions will remain robust as long as businesses keep gobbling up AI GPUs.

However, billionaires might be equally excited about Broadcom having a solid foundation that extends well beyond artificial intelligence. It generates a significant amount of revenue and profits from the wireless chips and accessories it provides for next-generation smartphones. And it’s a key provider of optical components used in automated industrial equipment, as well as networking solutions for next-gen vehicles.

Lastly, billionaires might be impressed with the company’s track record of earnings-accretive acquisitions. For example, the $69 billion purchase of cloud-based virtualization software company VMware in November 2023 perfectly positions Broadcom to be an important player in helping businesses with their private- and hybrid-cloud needs.

With a more diverse revenue stream than Nvidia or Super Micro Computer, Broadcom would be best-positioned to navigate an AI bubble-bursting event, should one occur.

Should you invest $1,000 in Super Micro Computer right now?

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Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Step Aside, Nvidia: Billionaires Are Selling It in Favor of 2 Other High-Growth Stock-Split Stocks was originally published by The Motley Fool

• The elite group worth more than $100 billion includes Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates.

• The 15 members have grown about $280 billion richer this year and are jointly worth $2.2 trillion.

• Walmart heir Jim Walton joined the club this week and his siblings could soon follow.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg are among the handful of people on the planet with a net worth above $100 billion.

Members of this elite group have amassed 12-digit fortunes by owning huge amounts of stock in some of the world’s most valuable companies. Most are founders and either current or former CEOs, and some, such as Warren Buffett, would be much richer if they didn’t give billions to charity.

There may be only 15 centibillionaires, but their combined wealth is around $2.2 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s more than the $1.9 trillion market capitalizations of Amazon and Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

All but one of them have grown richer this year, adding a net $280 billion or so to their collective fortunes. Adobe ($257 billion), Chevron ($250 billion), and PepsiCo ($241 billion) are all worth less than that.

Walmart heir Jim Walton joined the exclusive group this week thanks to a $28 billion increase in his net worth this year. His siblings, Rob and Alice, could soon follow given their respective net worths of $98.3 billion and $97.7 billion.

Here’s the list of individuals worth at least $100 billion, showing Bloomberg’s estimate of their net worth at the time of publication, how much it’s changed this calendar year, and the source of their wealth.

All figures are correct as of September 12, 2024.

1. Elon Musk

Net worth: $248 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$18.8 billion

Source of wealth: Tesla and SpaceX stock

Musk is the CEO of the electric-vehicle maker Tesla and the spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX. He’s also the owner of X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.

His other businesses include The Boring Company, Neuralink, and xAI.

2. Jeff Bezos

Net worth: $202 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$25.4 billion

Source of wealth: Amazon stock

Bezos is the founder, executive chairman, and former CEO of Amazon, the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant.

He also founded the space company Blue Origin and owns The Washington Post.

3. Bernard Arnault

Net worth: $180 billion

YTD change in wealth: -$27.8 billion

Source of wealth: LVMH stock

Bernard Arnault is the founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. His conglomerate owns a bevy of luxury brands, including Dior, Fendi, Dom Pérignon, Sephora, and Tiffany & Co.

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4. Mark Zuckerberg

Net worth: $179 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$51.4 billion

Source of wealth: Meta stock

Zuckerberg is the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Meta Platforms, the social-media titan behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.

Meta’s Reality Labs division makes virtual-reality and augmented-reality headsets and experiences.

5. Larry Ellison

Net worth: $168 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$45.1 billion

Source of wealth: Oracle and Tesla stock

Larry Ellison is the cofounder, chief technology officer, and former CEO of Oracle, an enterprise software company specializing in cloud computing and database platforms.

He invested in Tesla prior to joining the automaker’s board in 2018 and made more than 10 times his money on paper by the time his term as a director ended in August 2022.

6. Bill Gates

Net worth: $158 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$17.2 billion

Source of wealth: Microsoft stock

Bill Gates is the cofounder and former CEO of Microsoft, which makes the Office application suite, the cloud-computing platform Microsoft Azure, and Xbox consoles.

He’s renowned for his philanthropic work at the helm of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest charitable entities.

7. Warren Buffett

Net worth: $145 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$24.8 billion

Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway stock

Warren Buffett acquired Berkshire Hathaway when it was a failing textile mill in 1965 and has since grown it into one of the world’s largest companies. His nearly 15% stake is worth around $145 billion.

The famed investor’s conglomerate owns scores of businesses, including GEICO, See’s Candies, and BNSF Railway, and holds multibillion-dollar stakes in public companies such as Apple and Coca-Cola.

Buffett has gifted around half of his Berkshire shares to the Gates Foundation and four family foundations since 2006. All else being equal, if he’d retained all his stock he would be the world’s wealthiest person with a net worth over $300 billion.

8. Steve Ballmer

Net worth: $144 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$12.9 billion

Source of wealth: Microsoft stock

Steve Ballmer served as Microsoft’s CEO between 2000 and 2014. He joined the company in 1980 as Bill Gates’ assistant, initially negotiating a profit share which he later swapped for an equity stake when it became excessively large.

Ballmer retired as CEO in 2014 with a 4% stake — a position worth over $120 billion today. He promptly bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion and remains the basketball team’s owner.

9. Larry Page

Net worth: $136 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$9.13 billion

Source of wealth: Alphabet stock

Larry Page cofounded Google with his Stanford University classmate Sergey Brin in a friend’s garage in 1998 and served as CEO until 2001.

He took the reins again between 2011 and 2015 after Google was restructured as a subsidiary of Alphabet alongside other businesses such as YouTube and Waymo.

10. Sergey Brin

Net worth: $128 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$7.81 billion

Source of wealth: Alphabet stock

Sergey Brin cofounded Google with Page in 1998 and served as the search-and-advertising titan’s first president.

He and Page stepped down from their respective roles as Alphabet’s president and CEO in 2019.

11. Mukesh Ambani

Net worth: $111 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$14.4 billion

Source of wealth: Reliance Industries stock

Mukesh Ambani is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries and Asia’s richest man.

His father, Dhirubhai Ambani, founded Reliance and trusted Mukesh to grow the conglomerate’s petrochemicals business and expand into new areas such as telecommunications.

Mukesh threw a star-studded, multi-event wedding ceremony for his son Anant Ambani this summer.

12. Amancio Ortega

Net worth: $102 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$14.7 billion

Source of wealth: Inditex stock

Amancio Ortega is the founder and former chairman of Inditex, a fashion retail group home to brands such as Zara, Bershka, and Massimo Dutti.

The billionaire philanthropist and real-estate investor stopped running Inditex in 2011. His daughter Marta Ortega Pérez was appointed chair at the end of 2021.

13. Jim Walton

Net worth: $101 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$28.1 billion

Source of wealth: Walmart stock

Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, who gave each of his four children a 20% stake in the budding retail business over 70 years ago. Jim and his two surviving siblings, Rob and Alice, each still own over 11% of the company.

Jim’s net worth crossed $100 billion this week thanks to the retailer’s stock soaring 50% this year. Rob and Alice are worth $98.3 and $97.7 billion respectively, meaning they could soon join him in the $100 billion club.

14. Michael Dell

Net worth: $100 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$21.9 billion

Source of wealth: Dell stock

Michael Dell is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the eponymous computer maker. Dell stock has ballooned from below $40 in March last year to around $110, valuing the company at over $75 billion, as investors wager it will be a key beneficiary from the AI boom.

Dell owns about 46% of his company, and pocketed well over $10 billion from the sale of Dell-backed VMware to Broadcom last year.

15. Gautam Adani

Net worth: $100 billion

YTD change in wealth: +$15.7 billion

Source of wealth: Adani Group stock

Gautam Adani is the founder and chairman of the Adani Group. His conglomerate is a leading developer of infrastructure such as ports and power plants in India.

Read the original article on Business Insider

(Bloomberg) — China will raise the retirement age for the first time since 1978, a move that could stem a decline in the labor force but risk angering workers already wrestling with a slowing economy.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Top lawmakers endorsed a plan to delay retirement for employees by as long as five years, Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. Men will retire at 63 instead of 60. Women will retire at 55 instead of 50 for ordinary workers, and 58 instead of 55 for those in management positions.

The change will take place over 15 years starting January, and will allow more people to work longer. This could boost productivity to address the challenges of an aging population, although it risks adding to public discontent with the economy growing at the worst pace in five quarters.

“The timeline of raising the retirement age is pretty gradual. Policymakers probably have taken into account the potential negative impact and calibrated that carefully,” said Michelle Lam, Greater China economist at Societe Generale SA.

Shares of companies providing health and elderly care jumped, with Shanghai Everjoy Health Group Co. rising by the daily limit of 10%. Chalkis Health Industry Co. and Youngy Health Co. gained more than 6%.

“People may face more health problems if the retirement age is raised. And the pressure of supporting parents may require more elderly care institutions to share the burden,” said Shen Meng, a director at Beijing-based investment bank Chanson & Co.

China’s retirement age is among the world’s lowest despite significantly increased life expectancy over the decades. A bigger tax base and delayed access to benefits will relieve the pressure on the government to fund pensions as the elderly population rapidly expands.

The hike is aimed at “adapting to the new situation of demographic development in China, and fully developing and utilizing human resources,” according to the decision by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

The approval followed a July announcement by the ruling Communist Party that the retirement age will rise in a “voluntary, flexible manner.” Previous efforts to raise the threshold had failed in the face of public opposition.

What Bloomberg Economics Says…

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“This is a big step toward countering a key drag on long-term growth — a shrinking working-age population. But it won’t turn the tide. Our long-term projections, which already factor in a bump in the retirement age, point to growth going down to about 1% by 2050.”

Eric Zhu, economist

Read the full note here

The Friday decision has left some people fuming over working into an older age, as well as those who fear greater competition in the job market.

“Are you asking me, when I’m 60, to compete with young people for jobs?” a Weibo user said on the X-like social media platform, where the news was the top trending item and garnered more than 530 million views as of Friday afternoon.

Some also complained about employers’ discrimination against older job candidates, a problem that the government has long vowed to address.

Authorities acknowledged the potential short-term pressure on the job market at a press briefing on Friday. Li Zhong, vice minister at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said the gradual pace of the change should lead to a “muted” effect on youth employment.

The top legislative body also ruled that starting 2030, workers will need to contribute to their pension accounts for a longer period before they’re eligible to receive payout. This requirement will increase gradually from 15 to 20 years.

“The sustainability of the pension system may be the main consideration behind the move,” said Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered. “Even though the move will increase pressure for the job market, in the long term it helps mitigate the impact from declines in the working-age population.”

Lawmakers also called on officials to actively respond to the aging population, protect workers’ rights and improve elderly care. Additionally, it empowered the State Council, China’s cabinet, to adjust these measures as needed.

As China’s life expectancy has risen, delaying retirement has become more important to offset the demographic challenges from its decades-long enforcement of a one-child policy, which left a generation of single children supporting a large elderly population. Today, the average Chinese lives to 78 from 66 four decades ago.

People aged 65 and older are expected to make up 30% of the population by around 2035 from 14.2% in 2021, according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday. Authorities’ efforts to encourage births have so far done little to reverse the demographic shift, with birth rate falling to a record last year.

“When I was born they said there were too many. When I gave birth they said there were too few. When I wanted to work they said I was too old. And when I retire they say I’m too young,” another Weibo user said.

–With assistance from Fran Wang, Yujing Liu and Catherine Ngai.

(Updates with more comments, details throughout)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

While election season is keeping politicians occupied along with their regular legislative duties, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, hasn’t lost focus on adding to her stock portfolio. The representative from the Peach State steadfastly picked up new positions throughout the past few months, demonstrating interest in everything from artificial intelligence (AI) stocks to Vanguard funds.

In the latest go-round, Greene, increased her AI exposure in a variety of ways, picking up shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). While Greene didn’t disclose the exact amount that she invested in each of the stocks, her regulatory filing reveals that each transaction was valued between $1,001 and $15,000.

More of the same magnificent (and other) names

Reviewing her stock purchases over the past few months, investors will find that Greene clearly has a penchant for artificial intelligence stocks — in particular, “Magnificent Seven” stocks. In fact, in her latest round of buying activity, Greene was building larger positions in stocks she had already purchased. Greene scooped up shares of Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia on Sept. 3, having bought the same stocks on Aug. 21. Greene didn’t disclose her motivation for the move, but it’s possible that she sensed a buying opportunity. Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia fell 5%, 2%, and 16%, respectively, between Aug. 21 and Sept. 3.

While there’s no clear explanation for the sell-off in Alphabet stock at that time, it may simply be an extension of the market’s skepticism regarding Alphabet’s future after it lost an important antitrust case over the summer. With regard to Amazon, investors may have been bearish in reaction to Reuters reporting on Aug. 29 that some Amazon workers would join a Teamsters strike against unfair labor practices that had extended into several states. And investors were likely clicking the sell button on Nvidia stock after the company failed to meet the market’s sky-high expectations for its second-quarter 2025 financial results.

Apple represents another Magnificent Seven stock that found its way to Greene’s buy list again. Previously, Greene had bought the tech superstar’s stock in May, and it’s possible that she chose to increase her position in September after a slight sell-off following news that Warren Buffett pared the Berkshire Hathaway position in Apple.

Although it’s not a Magnificent Seven stock, CrowdStrike is another repeat-buy stock that Greene had bought previously — this one in in June. Perhaps sensing another bargain, Greene may have seen value in the cybersecurity specialist, whose stock took a nosedive, after it was found to be largely responsible for causing global internet outages in July.

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Driving in a new direction

Hitching a ride with an electric vehicle (EV) stalwart for the first time, Greene added shares of Tesla to her portfolio — a stock that provides even more exposure the burgeoning field of AI. In addition to providing Tesla drivers with the option for autonomous driving capability with its AI-powered full self-driving mode, Tesla has committed to developing humanoid robots that are embedded with AI.

Despite its stock falling in late July and into August, Tesla electrified the hopes of some investors in August when they learned that the company’s Cybertruck sales were strong in July — an auspicious sign for a stock that many had maligned after the company reported second-quarter 2024 financial results.

What’s a Main Street investor to do?

Smart as it may be to dig into politicians’ stock buys and sales, it’s never a wise move to blindly follow their actions. Instead, investors should resolve to use the knowledge of politicians’ stock moves as starting points for engaging in further research. Nonetheless, Greene’s recent stock picks are all worthwhile considerations at the moment, as all six stocks are industry leaders that provide investors with varying types of exposure to AI.

For those looking to strengthen their holdings with a leader in cybersecurity, CrowdStrike is a worthy consideration even after the July incident. Similarly, with bearish sentiment surrounding Alphabet from its lost antitrust case, now may be a good time to pick up shares for those with long-term investing horizons who don’t find near-term volatility daunting. And with regard to Amazon, the company continues to report strong financials thanks to its Amazon Web Services business along with its other offerings, even inspiring billionaires to click the buy button.

Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla, on the other hand, are three AI powerhouses that continue to dominate their respective fields and are well worth strong consideration from investors with varying types of investing goals.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $716,375!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 9, 2024

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, CrowdStrike, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is Loading Up on Stocks Again; Here Are the 6 Stocks She Just Bought was originally published by The Motley Fool

Bank of America is introducing a new tool to more closely monitor the amount of hours its junior investment bankers work, part of a larger pattern of banks capping work time for young employees a few months after the sudden death of a junior associate.

BofA’s new monitoring tool, which will reportedly go into effect next week, will require U.S.-based junior investment bankers to log hours daily, rather than weekly, in the company’s timekeeping software, the Wall Street Journal reported. They will also input information about the deals they are working on, which senior bankers are supervising them, and their ability to take on more work, using a scale from 1 to 4.

“We successfully piloted this improved technology platform earlier this year to help our team more efficiently serve our investment banking clients,” a BofA spokesperson told the outlet.

The bank did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

The changes came after a WSJ investigation found BofA employees often turn a blind eye to bank policies meant to maintain work-life balance. According to the outlet, many junior investment bankers at BofA were routinely told by their superiors to lie about how many hours they worked in order to skirt restrictions on working hours. Following the investigation, BofA began encouraging its young employees to accurately report hours and blow the whistle on managers telling them to do otherwise. Today, junior bankers in the industry should typically work around 100 hours per week and have Saturdays off.

JP Morgan has enacted similar limits, capping the amount of hours junior bankers are allowed to work to 80 per week, the bank confirmed to Fortune. The working hours restriction is the first for the bank. JP Morgan has already implemented a “pencils down” period from 6 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday and made moves to ensure employees have at least one full weekend off per quarter.

Lasting change

While investment banking has an initial shine for some young people, all but promising to mint millionaires, it also has a reputation for grinding down junior bankers with a culture of burnout. The swath of restrictions on work hours comes in the wake of the death of Leo Lukenas III, a former Army Special Forces soldier-turned-investment banker who suddenly died of a blood clot in May. He worked at BofA for just one year, and was clocking over 100 hours per week working on a $2 billion deal.

Lukenas said in mid-March he intended to leave the bank because of its treacherous hours, Douglas Walters, a managing partner at GrayFox Recruitment, told Reuters. He worked at BofA for just one year. BofA’s tools restricting working hours were in development prior to Lukenas’s death.

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But the loss still cracked open a wide conversation about Wall Street’s working conditions, which have long been known for being arduous—and difficult to reform in the long term, given banks’ less-than-successful efforts to crack down on cultures encouraging employees to overwork themselves. BofA implemented work limits over a decade ago following the 2013 death of a 21-year-old intern who was epileptic and died of seizures following 72 hours of working.

The bank, then Bank of America Merrill Lynch, recommended employees take at least four weekend days off per month. Goldman Sachs similarly made reforms following the BofA intern’s death and in 2015 capped its interns’ hours to 17 hours per day, suggesting they be home by midnight and not return to work until 7 a.m. the next day. Goldman Sachs’ then-CEO Lloyd Blankfein said at the time that interns should get a life outside of work.

“You have to be interesting, you have to have interests away from the narrow thing of what you do,” Blankfein said. “You have to be somebody who somebody else wants to talk to.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com