Raymond James is extending its push into AI with the launch of an AI Academy for the company’s army of advisors.
The independent broker dealer giant announced the AI Academy, which is part of its Tech Savvy education program, at the company’s Elevate conference this week. The AI Academy, which launches this month, offers virtual training and workshops focused on practical applications, including AI prompting, agent productivity, and Microsoft 365 integrations, according to Raymond James. Training is also provided on Raymond James’ proprietary AI applications and enhancements, the company said, in a statement.
AI is a top priority for Raymond James. Speaking during the company’s annual institutional investor conference earlier this year, the company’s CEO Paul Shoukry said that AI can help solve the financial advisory industry’s talent shortage. Last month, during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, he also described how Raymond James is using focus groups as it ramps up the rollout of Rai, its new AI operations agent.
Raymond James is not alone in ramping up its AI efforts. Last week, at Osaic’s 2026 NXT conference in Boston, CEO Jamie Price said that two of the company’s AI tools have enjoyed the fastest-ever takeup among its giant network of broker-dealers and registered investment advisors. Elsewhere, Franklin Templeton recently described its push to tap into internal talent through hackathons and AI champions.
And while Stifel CEO Ron Kruszewski is adamant that AI will not substitute for human judgment, he's also cognizant of the still-blossoming technology's benefits in terms of productivity.
“I believe, at least on the advisor side, that [AI] will make our advisors more productive. It will unearth, potentially, more opportunities, more ideas, more things on tax savings, more on estate, more things that will help our advisors do what they do,” Kruszewski said during the company's first-quarter earnings call last month. “I see this as a tailwind to advice, not a headwind."
At Elevate, Raymond James also launched Client 360, which brings together key client insights into a single view within the company’s Client Center, a centralized hub for all client and account information. In a statement, Raymond James said that the portal surfaces relationship-level information such as account details, recent activity, alerts, CRM interactions and client milestones in a consolidated view. This means that advisors can access insights faster and work more efficiently, it said.
Client 360 is also integrated with Raymond James’ Opportunities app for financial advisors.
“These enhancements are about putting practical innovation in the hands of advisors,” said Andy Zolper, Raymond James’ chief information officer, in the statement. “By simplifying access to insights and expanding technology education, we’re helping advisors work more efficiently and deliver even more personalized service as they deepen client relationships.”
Raymond James, which has approximately 8,900 advisors, spends $1.1 billion annually on technology.
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