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Raymond James & Associates offers a full menu of financial planning and investment management services. The firm is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, but it has hundreds of offices across the country. Its largest client group is individual investors, although the firm also serves a large number of institutional investors. The firm’s comparatively low account minimums for its investing programs make it accessible for a wider range of investors.
The bottom line: Raymond James & Associates is part of a large, publicly held company, and offers a range of investing and financial planning services through advisors across the country.
| Assets under management (AUM): $331,150,045,993 | ||
| Minimum investment: Varies by program and advisor | ||
| Individual investor to advisor ratio: 86:1 | ||
| Fee structure: A percentage of AUM, hourly charges, fixed fees, commissions | ||
| Headquarters: 880 Carillon Parkway St. Petersburg, FL 33176 Website: www.raymondjames.com Phone: 727-567-1000 |
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All information included in this profile is accurate as of March 29, 2022. For more information, please consult Raymond James’ website.
Raymond James & Associates (often just referred to as Raymond James) is wholly owned by Raymond James Financial, Inc. The parent company of Raymond James is publicly held and has been a registered broker-dealer since 1962. However, the investment advisor registration didn’t come about until 1974.
Raymond James is set up so it has offices throughout the country, with investment advisors and wealth managers who are affiliated with the company while running their own practices. However, Raymond James does have over 11,400 employees, more than 4,900 of whom are investment advisors. Additionally, nearly 6,800 employees are registered to represent broker-dealers, while over 4,000 are licensed insurance agents.
The firm is a family-centric operation. The firm was founded in 1962 by Bob James, who was the CEO from that year until 1970. His son Tom James took over as CEO and chairman in 1970, and served in that role until 2010. In 2008, Tom was named Ernst & Young’s National Entrepreneur of the Year in the financial services category.
While the firm does serve high net worth individuals, the vast majority of its clients are non-high net worth individuals. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a high net worth individual is someone who has at least $750,000 managed by a firm, or whose net worth a firm “reasonably believes” exceeds $1.5 million.
For the most part, it’s possible to get started using Raymond James with a minimum investment of $5,000 for certain programs. Other programs require a minimum of $100,000 or $200,000. However, for consumers looking for financial planning or consulting services, there is no minimum requirement.
Basically, the minimum is dependent on the type of program or portfolio used. There is room for an individual advisor to set different account minimums and fees, and there might be some variance from advisor to advisor. Check with a local advisor to see what’s required.
The firm offers a variety of services related to portfolio management and financial planning. Advisors with the company offer managed account programs designed for different levels of investing and that come with varying degrees of personalization.
For managed accounts, there is an opportunity for investors to receive management from individual firms or money managers for more customized results. The firm also offers financial planning and consulting services, designed to help clients create a road map for the future.
Specifically, services for individuals offered by Raymond James include:
In general, Raymond James uses a wide variety of investment products, programs and strategies to invest client assets. This may include anything from a more traditional mix of investments, such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, to a portfolio of managed or alternative investments, like hedge funds.
When creating a strategy for its clients’ portfolios, advisors at Raymond James take into account a client’s financial goals as well as their risk tolerance. During consultations, advisors are also expected to look at a client’s liquidity needs and tax situation.
After using analysis tools in conjunction with a consideration of client goals and risk tolerance, Raymond James advisors will put together investment strategies that employ different tactics, stressing diversification and customization for clients. Advisors may recommend long-term strategies, such as dollar-cost averaging and reinvesting dividends.
The firm generally uses a tiered fee schedule, with rates based on a percentage of assets under management. However, the firm may also use fixed fees, hourly charges and some commission-based fees.
Raymond James offers a variety of different programs, each with different fees and minimums. The firm’s wrap fee accounts, which is the most common arrangement, carry a maximum annual fee of 2.25% to 2.75%. Keep in mind that the wrap fee includes trading, brokerage and other costs, though it does not cover underlying management fees and operating expenses.
Additionally, clients may owe account fees. For example, an annual maintenance fee of up to $75 applies to certain types of accounts, such as retirement accounts. Other accounts, such as guardianship accounts, have fees of up to $150 per year. Depending on the account, there might also be setup fees and processing fees involved.
If you are going to work with this firm, talk to your prospective advisor about the particular services and investments you’re interested in to get a better idea of the fees you might pay.
Raymond James has several disciplinary disclosures, which is not entirely uncommon for a firm of this nature, size and age. However, some of the disclosures are worth noting before deciding whether to move forward with an account.
Disciplinary disclosures include those related to Raymond James & Associates allegedly failing to properly supervise advisory accounts, resulting in alleged issues such as charging excess advisory fees and failing to disclose conflicts of interest. This resulted in a fine of $3 million to the SEC and restitution to clients of more than $11 million, as well as interest totaling more than $1 million. Raymond James did not admit to or deny the findings and has undergone a review of its practices.
Additionally, the firm has faced several disciplinary disclosures stemming from allegations from FINRA related to various issues, including maintaining inaccurate books, a supposedly unfair automated commission schedule, the failure to promptly execute some trading orders, the disclosure of client personal information to third parties, pricing issues and compliance issues.
The New York Stock Exchange also issued disciplinary findings related to the firm’s options trading, as well as some of its pricing and clearing practices.
For more information and further details on these disclosures and others, visit Raymond James’ Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) page.
Raymond James has over 600 offices in the U.S., per its Form ADV filing, and it is registered to serve investors in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. On its website, the firm lists offices in the following states:
The firm also has office locations in Canada and across Europe.
To see if there is a Raymond James advisor near you, use the search tool provided on the firm’s website.
Raymond James may be worth considering if you want help with all aspects of your financial planning and investment management with relative accessibility. Minimum investment requirements for managed accounts start at $5,000, which makes it in reach for many levels of investors. Additionally, financial planning help is available for just about any situation. Plus, the firm has hundreds of offices throughout the country, making it easy for investors in a number of locations to get in-person help.
However, the firm’s fees can become confusing, and there are quite a few of them. You should consult with your prospective advisor to make sure you have a full understanding of the fees you might pay. Also make sure you are comfortable with the firm’s past disciplinary issues related to commission disclosure and notations for issues related to unfair pricing practices. As always, it is important to research multiple options and carefully consider what you’re looking for in an advisor to ensure you find the right financial advisor for you.
Miranda MarquitMiranda Marquit has been a financial journalist for more than 12 years and has contributed to numerous national and local media outlets, including Forbes, NPR, CNBC, FOX Business, and The Wall Street Journal.
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