Raymond James Financial missed analysts’ earnings expectations, though net income grew 36% year over year to nearly $263 million, or $1.76 per share, for the period ending Sept. 30. Revenues jumped 12% to almost $1.9 billion.
The company said results benefited from growth in Private Client Group assets in fee-based accounts, as well as higher net interest income and investment banking revenues.
Results were pulled down by roughly $12 million of unrealized losses on private equity investments and a jump in other expenses, mainly tied to higher legal and regulatory reserves.
“Our focus on attracting and retaining client-centric financial advisors and providing them with industry-leading tools and resources continues to produce record results,” said Chairman and CEO Paul Reilly.
Private Client News
The firm has 7,813 advisors. That’s up 467 from a year ago and 94 from the prior quarter. Of the total, 4,646 advisors are independent, and 3,167 are employee reps.
Assets under administration grew 15% year over year to $755.7 billion. Fee-based assets soared 24% to $366.3 billion.
Overall, the unit had sales of $1.31 billion, a 12% jump from a year go. Pretax net income, though, dropped 8% to $131.2 million.
“Fiscal year 2018 was a record year for financial advisor recruiting, and retention of advisors remained excellent,” added Reilly. “Our focus on serving advisors and their clients continues to resonate with high-quality financial advisors across all of our affiliation options.”