FINRA Orders Raymond James to Pay $1.69 Million in Restitution

Steve Hollister, public relations manager for Raymond James, told AdvisorOne in an email message that Raymond James was “pleased to have resolved this matter with FINRA.” The commissions that would be refunded under the agreement with FINRA, he said, ”involved primarily low-priced securities that were determined by an automated commission schedule, which we revised on July 1, 2011, upon notification of FINRA’s findings. The affected trades represent less than 0.1% of the total equity trades executed by Raymond James during the period reviewed by FINRA. The average impact per affected account over the five-year time period is approximately $110.”

Brad Bennett, FINRA Executive VP and Chief of Enforcement, said in a statement the same day that, “Raymond James failed to adequately monitor its supervisory systems and as a result, both Raymond James & Associates and Raymond James Financial Services overcharged thousands of customers on their securities transactions.” Broker-dealers, he said, “must ensure that their automated systems set commission charges that are fair to investors.”

FINRA said it required the firms to revise their automated commission schedules to conform to the requirements of the Fair Prices and Commissions Rule. In addition to requiring RJA and RJFS to repay approximately $1.69 million in overcharges, FINRA said each firm is required to calculate and repay additional overcharges from Nov. 1, 2010, through the date that each firm revised its schedule.