Raymond James pivots to appeal to registered investment advisors

The Wealth Advisor Contributor

October 2, 2020

"The [merger] allowed us to improve what we can offer to clients and enhance technical support to both groups under one combined entity," said Greg Bruce, the current SVP and national director of IAD, who will lead the newly combined division. Bruce joined Raymond James in March 2019 from Schwab Advisor Services.

The firm's IAD was created in 2001 to provide custodial and support services to independent registered investment advisers, or RIAs. The Custody and Clearing Division has a longer history — it was established in 1982 and provides custody and clearing services to broker/dealers. The newly merged division will provide access to Raymond James’ integrated products and services platform, but with a more personal touch.

"We provide each client with a dedicated primary contact," said Bruce. "It's an extension of their back office, a consultative relationship to be proactive with communication around industry or policy changes that may have impact on their businesses. It's a true differentiator, from a service perspective, that is being compromised throughout the industry ... it's a call center versus the primary contact approach, and we're committed [to the latter]."

Bruce also pointed out that Raymond James separated itself from some of its competitors by not competing with their RIA broker/dealers for their end clients.

In a release announcing the combination, Private Client Group President Scott Curtis said the two divisions had synergies that would work better combined and would provide a more comprehensive offering to clients. He also said that the move was spurred by the increasing amount of RIAs and breakaway advisers.

The RIA model is a popular one and financial firms are raising their position in this fast-growing section of the brokerage industry.

"There is a movement toward the RIA model due to independent nature," Bruce said. "It provides an advantage in the marketplace."

Raymond James offers several include affiliation options, such as independent employee, independent adviser, bank or credit union adviser, independent RIA, and employee adviser. Raymond James introduced the ability to affiliate as the latter in 2016 through Alex. Brown, a division of Raymond James & Associates.

This article originally appeared on Tampa Bay Business Journal.