Raymond James looks to replicate recruiting success on West Coast

Go West, young adviser. That was the message of Paul Reilly, CEO of Raymond James Financial Inc., during Thursday morning's earnings call with analysts. An analyst asked Mr. Reilly about the company's recent success in recruiting in the Northeast and whether it could replicate it out West. Mr. Reilly has been CEO of Raymond James since 2010, replacing Thomas James. "When I came in, one of my platforms was growth in the Northeast and out West and we just kind of hit it better in the Northeast," Mr. Reilly said, in particular citing last year's acquisition of Alex. Brown and the 2013 agreement to partner with Steward Partners, both located in the Northeast. "Now, we're just as focused as we were a few years ago on the West Coast," he said. "In fact, we moved our November board meeting to California to make a statement and making a concerted effort for both clients and advisers to start gearing up for better drive out West, which has been our slow area." "We've made progress, we have recruited advisers, we've got a good pipeline, but that's a big market. We've got a lot to do, and it's a big opportunity for us," he said. "If we can do it in the rest of the country, there's no reason we can't do it in the three western states on the coast." Raymond James in 2016 reported its best recruiting year ever. Scott Curtis, president of Raymond James Financial Services Inc., the independent broker-dealer, in April attributed recruiting success to its continued flexibility with how advisers run their practices. Meanwhile, Raymond James Financial, the broker-dealer holding company, on Wednesday afternoon reported record quarterly net revenues of $1.62 billion and record quarterly net income of $1.24 per diluted share.