Raymond James delivered record revenue and exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for adjusted earnings per share in its latest quarterly report. However, one key detail was missing.
The firm has stopped disclosing the number of advisors in its Private Client Group (PCG) each quarter, following a trend among major banks and brokerages.
“As we’ve noted over recent years, the financial advisor count has become a less relevant measure of the strength and growth of our PCG business,” a Raymond James spokesperson says.
Other large financial institutions have made similar moves. Bank of America stopped reporting the number of traditional full-service advisors at Merrill Lynch years ago, and in 2023, it ceased reporting a broader advisor tally. Morgan Stanley also stopped reporting its advisor count following its acquisition of E*Trade.
Raymond James argues that quarterly advisor count does not fully reflect the strength of its PCG business. The firm notes that advisors may transition between its employee and RIA channels, retire, or leave while keeping assets at the firm.
“We believe the more meaningful metrics for investors to monitor are total client assets and domestic PCG net new assets,” the spokesperson says. “Those figures will give you the clearest view into the health and growth of the business.”
Despite this shift, Raymond James will continue to disclose its advisor count annually, acknowledging its ongoing relevance.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, ending Dec. 31, Raymond James reported $1.49 trillion in client assets under administration in the Private Client Group, up 14% year-over-year but down 1% from the previous quarter. Firmwide, total client assets under administration stood at $1.56 trillion.
Domestic net new assets, a key growth indicator that accounts for inflows, dividends, and interest while subtracting outflows and fees, totaled $14 billion in the first quarter, reflecting 4% annualized growth.
The last reported advisor count, disclosed after the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, stood at 8,787 Private Client Group advisors, consisting of 3,826 employees and 4,961 independent contractors.
The decision to discontinue regular advisor count reporting highlights an industry-wide shift, says Michael Watson, head of RIA custody at Axos Advisor Services. He points to evolving business models and revenue sources within large financial firms.
“All of these firms have multiple verticals of ‘advisors,’ so deciding who gets included could be part of the issue,” Watson says. “There has been a paradigm shift away from commission-led sales production to fee-based asset production, which makes the number of advisors less relevant.”
Wells Fargo made a similar decision in 2023, stating at the time that it was “aligning with our peers.”
