Raymond James Financial Inc., the Florida-based retail brokerage, is recruiting aggressively and increasing signing bonuses to expand in the western U.S., according to CEO Paul Reilly.
The firm's total advisor count dropped slightly to 5,334 in the past 12 months, but it has flown a number of prospective advisor to its St. Petersburg, Fla. headquarters in recent months. It also sweetened its signing incentives, up to 10% in some cases, according to Scott Curtis, senior vice president of the firm's private-client group.
"The transition packaged offered by some of these companies are eye-popping," Curtis said. "We increased ours very slightly, but we're still nowhere near some of those other firms."
As it sifts through CVs, Raymond James is planning to hire candidates in areas like California, Oregon and Washington where it doesn't have many offices. Pockets of the Northeast and MidAtlantic region fit that description as well.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Raymond James is also trying to ratchet up productivity of its current advisors with longer training programs.
The firm may do an end-run around the recruiting process and snap up a bunch of new employees in an acquisition. Reilly said he is eyeing roughly six takeover targets; he is particularly keen on a large-cap asset management shop.
Write to Kyle Stock
Related: What It Takes to Work at Raymond James