If you are an investment manager or investment focused financial planner, and you feel ready to pursue your future as an Employed Affiliate with Raymond James, you’ll enjoy a degree of flexibility and control you won’t find in other traditional settings. Reap the rewards of growing and retaining your own client book with a suite of business support providing you with an intuitive administration platform, investor-friendly client reporting, access to market-leading research tools and much more.
Key benefits of Employee Affiliation
Decentralised investment proposition – You create your own investment proposition based on the needs of your clients with regulatory supervision and guidance from our compliance team. We respect autonomy and value your expertise which is why we won’t tell you how to invest your clients’ money.
You will always own your client book, we don’t impose restrictive covenants. You manage your client relationships and they remain yours should you choose to leave us.
Financial Security for you and your clients – As an Employed Affiliate of Raymond James you will have the backing and support of one of the largest financial services firms in the world.
Our Culture – At Raymond James we are people-driven, values-based and future-focused. Our culture is the foundation of our success and what differentiates us from the competition.
Our regulatory compliance and supervision services include:
Supervision of investment management, stockbroking and financial planning activities
Audits as well as desk-based monitoring
Extensive compliance and regulatory guidance as provided on the Raymond James Portal™ – our intranet is provided to all affiliated wealth managers and support staff
FCA authorisation with Raymond James as the authorised firm and wealth managers as Certified Persons
Professional indemnity insurance cover
The Raymond James administration services include access to:
Investment tools and research*
New business processing
In specie transfers
Dealing and settlement services
Direct market access as we are an LSE Member Firm
Broad range of asset classes
Investment administration
Revenue processing
Secure online account access
Consolidated client reporting
Tax reporting
Multiple tax wrappers
Management information
Data export capability
*Research is available via a research aggregation platform. Costs will apply
We are committed to providing wealth managers with a broad range of investment products, tax wrappers, exceptional support and integrated client solutions – along with expertise and support from Raymond James teams to help you build your service and meet the evolving needs of your clients.
We have a genuine understanding of the challenges faced by the firms who work with us, and as such we are fully equipped to offer solutions in a world where regulation is constantly evolving.
We appreciate that market commentary can be informative and helpful, particularly in times of market volatility.
To view our most recent Market Commentary click here.
If you require further information about your portfolio, your wealth manager will be happy to assist. If you don’t have her/his contact details to hand, you can easily search by name or location via our Find a Wealth Manager Tool. Click here to access.
You are able to see your portfolio details via Client Access. Click here to login.
If you do not yet have your login details, your wealth manager will be happy to assist.
Black Monday
On 19 October 1987, the stock markets experienced a dramatic plunge that prompted many firms to shut down their trading desks and turn off their phones to minimize internal losses. Raymond James refused to do the same. Our desks stayed open to help meet clients’ needs, resulting in our first and only unprofitable quarter since the firm went public in 1983.
Who was Raymond James?
The Raymond in our name is actually from Edward Raymond, owner of a 15-employee mutual fund sales group, Raymond and Associates, along Florida’s west coast. He sold his company to Bob James on 15 July 1964, on condition that the surviving firm be called Raymond, James & Associates.
Three days after the sale, Ed Raymond was involved in a near-fatal automobile accident and never joined the firm.
Nonetheless, even after Raymond had passed away, Bob James insisted that his name remain on the door – ahead of James’ own. That was a promise he made to Ed Raymond three days before the accident, and Bob James was a man who kept his promises.
Bear Market of 1974
The severe bear market of 1974 threatened the existence of Raymond James, which was bleeding capital by the day. Tom James, his father and other leaders took extreme measures to keep the firm afloat, slashing costs, foregoing paychecks and even attempting to sell the firm for just enough capital to protect client assets and retain as many associates as possible. The story could have ended very differently if not for a sharp upturn and continued rebound in the stock markets late in the year.
This “fortunate near-death experience” (as Tom calls it) permanently marked his psyche, and has influenced our firm’s character and culture since, solidifying the conservative nature that emphasizes a determined focus on the long term – both for clients and the firm.
Taking Raymond James Public
When consideration was being given to taking Raymond James public, Tom James penned a letter to shareholders (largely employees at the time).
He wrote:
” … the public offering should be considered as a statement of our independence. While this is a psychological rather than an economic rationale, it is nonetheless very important. We have asserted for some time that we are not interested in becoming a small part of a very large corporation. That assertion results mainly from the inclinations of management rather than the economic benefits associated with either alternative. The public stock offering affords us the opportunity to enjoy a little bit of the best of both worlds. While shareholders will be given liquidity at fair market value, we will still have the ability to control our own destiny.”
After 40+ years of Tom’s leadership, upon becoming CEO, Paul Reilly was often questioned about whether the company might ultimately surrender its cherished independence and be acquired by some larger entity. His response: “Not while I’m around.” It’s a theme that continues today.
