Aspire is a biannual magazine created and published by the Raymond James US Marketing team, targeted at female wealth management professionals.
In each issue, you’ll find thought leadership from energising executives, featured advisor success stories, tips to help you manage your practice and grow your business and news about community involvement initiatives. We hope you find it enjoyable and inspiring!
Empowering women through education and connection is just one of the focus areas in this edition of Aspire. Plus, one woman’s aim to make financial services a more equitable and inclusive place for women, advice on how to be a confident public speaker and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on our personal and professional lives.
In this edition of Aspire magazine, we celebrate Raymond James’ Women of Distinction. Read about their experiences of working in financial services and unique routes to success. Plus, raising the visibility of women in the industry and the importance of role models.
There are so many ways to develop your career and find your passion. In this edition of Aspire, four women share their journeys into wealth management. Plus, how to build a new habit, why effective mentorship benefits both mentor and mentee, and more inspirational insights.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Aspire Magazine is amplifying this year’s theme and call to #BreakTheBias by highlighting the achievements of barrier-breaking women reshaping the world of finance inside and out – for the professional class on its way up and for the clients and the communities they support. Read about these big-picture thinkers, entrepreneurs, educators and life-changers in our latest issue, available now.
You can see amazing possibilities when you take ownership of your path and reach for your professional goals, says New York Life Investments CEO Yie-Hsin Hung – being exceptional at what you do is just the start. In this latest issue of Aspire, hear from Hung and other women in the financial services industry who have reached great heights and continue to set greater and greater aspirations.
Diana Nyad is the only person to successfully swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys – but she didn’t make it on her first attempt. Or the second. Or the third. This issue of Aspire features stories of successful women who, like Diana, stayed true to their visions in achieving their dreams. And they encourage others to do the same.
The Autumn 2020 edition of Aspire is filled with stories of powerful women and their achieved ambitions. With candour and introspection, they talk about the critical decisions that contributed to their successes and nourished their entrepreneurial spirits. Now they’re empowering others to do the same.
Spring is the season of renewal and re-emergence, and those themes run throughout this special edition of Aspire, in which we gain perspective from a powerhouse – Arianna Huffington – and welcome a new leader, Renée Baker, to the Women Financial Advisors Network as it celebrates 25 years of inspiring women.
Black MondayOn 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. |
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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. |
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Bear Market of 1974The 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. |
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Taking Raymond James PublicWhen consideration was being given to taking Raymond James public, Tom James penned a letter to shareholders (largely employees at the time). ” … 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. |
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