As other firms faltered last quarter, Raymond James surged ahead of the pack.
From April to June, which the St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm calls its third quarter,
Earnings for the firm's wealth management business soared as well. Net revenue for Raymond James' Private Client Group jumped 11% year on year to reach $2.18 billion — another new record.
"Despite the challenging environment and elevated market volatility since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates, we generated record net revenues and earnings for the first nine months of the fiscal year," Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly said during an earnings call on Wednesday night.
The strong performance came at a time when many other firms struggled. Charles Schwab, for example, saw its revenues
Business at Raymond James, meanwhile, appeared to be thriving — particularly at its wealth management division. Assets under administration at the Private Client Group reached $1.23 trillion last quarter, a 15% increase from June 2022. The Group finished the quarter with 8,704 financial advisors, up from 8,616 last year.
"With our continued focus on retaining, supporting and attracting high-quality financial advisers, PCG consistently generates strong organic growth," Reilly said.
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The news for RayJay was not all good, however. Reilly noted that at some point during the quarter, an "independent contractor" parted ways with the firm, taking $4.6 billion in assets and 60 financial advisors with it. Reilly did not name the practice, but said Raymond James managed to hold onto more than 60% of its assets and advisors.
"This was a planned and mutual separation," Reilly said. "Our net new asset metric would have been even stronger after adjusting for this separation, which we do not believe will negatively impact our profitability."
Here's a closer look at how Raymond James did last quarter — as compared to