Raymond James Rocks Its Record Book in 1st Quarter
Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE:RJF) began 2022 by reporting a host of record results for the company's fiscal first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2021 and investors are taking notice.
The financial services companys record accomplishments included:
Quarterly net revenues of $2.78 billion
Quarterly net income of $446 million
Client assets under administration of $1.26 trillion
Financial assets under management of $203.2 billion
Clients domestic cash sweep balances of $73.5 billion
Net loans at Raymond James Bank of $26.1 billion
Quarterly investment banking revenues of $425 million, driven by record merger and acquisition (M&A) and advisory fees as well as record equity underwriting results
It feels good to start the calendar year where we are, Chairman and CEO Paul Reilly said during his companys first-quarter earnings call on Jan. 27. He added, Fiscal 2022 started off strong with record results this quarter, including net income growth of 43% over the fiscal first quarter of 2021, driven by record asset management and related administrative fees and record investment banking revenues. Furthermore, we are well positioned entering the fiscal second quarter, with record client assets under administration of $1.26 trillion, record financial assets under management of $203.2 billion, record net loans at Raymond James Bank of $26.1 billion, and strong activity levels for both financial advisor recruiting and investment banking. We also ended the quarter with record clients domestic cash sweep balances which should bode well with the anticipated rise in short-term interest rates.
One of the St. Petersburg, Florida- based firms strengths has been recruiting large numbers of advisors, yet headcount declined slightly during the fourth quarter because of a rise in the number of retirees about 90, Reilly told Barrons. Reilly added that those advisors assets are likely to stay with the firm because their succession plans designate another team member to take over assets. Raymond James had 8,464 financial advisors at the end of the fourth quarter, a net increase of 231 over December 2020, but a net decrease of 18 compared to September 2021, the company reported.
You can do a lot of things with less travel, but there are things that require that face-to-face input. And we know that people are tired of not being together, Reilly said in the interview.
The wealth management firm announced on Jan. 21 that it had completed the acquisition of U.K.-based Charles Stanley Group. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and Charles Stanley shareholders approved the transaction. Charles Stanley continues to operate as a separate brand and does business as Charles Stanley, a division of Raymond James. It joins wealth manager Raymond James Investment Services (RJIS) in the Raymond James U.K. footprint, boosting total regional client assets to more than 42 billion British pounds ($56 billion).
"Raymond James consistent success retaining and recruiting financial advisors across all of our affiliation options is a testament to our client-focused culture and award-winning technology platform, Reilly added. Adding approximately $36 billion in client assets, together, Raymond James Investment Services and Charles Stanley serve clients in the U.K. with approximately $57 billion in client assets. We are pleased to welcome Charles Stanley to the Raymond James family. Throughout this process, our long-held admiration of Charles Stanley and our belief that our firms share a common, client-centric approach were proven repeatedly.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
