Raymond James net revenue for fiscal first quarter hits record, up 7% from a year earlier

Raymond James Financial Inc. rolled along with a record-breaking stock market during its first fiscal quarter and reported quarterly net revenue of $1.2 billion for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That was up 7% from a year earlier and 5% from the preceding quarter, according to a statement released Wednesday afternoon. Net revenue hit a record, the company said. In a conference call Thursday morning with analysts, CEO Paul Reilly declined to give specific numbers of reps and advisers the company was targeting to recruit this year. He added, however, that a basic goal was to recruit advisers who generated $75 million in annual revenues, known as gross dealer concession in the industry, for the private client group. Raymond James had net income of $116.6 million in the fiscal first quarter, or 81 cents a diluted share, compared with $85.9 million, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier. Client assets under administration grew to $447 billion, an increase of 15% from a year earlier. “Growth in client assets was driven by both positive net flows and strong equity markets, as the S&P 500 was up 10% for the quarter,” the company said in a statement. The number of registered representatives and investment advisers dipped slightly in the quarter, with the firm dropping 19 reps and advisers across its various business lines for a head count of 6,178 at the end of December. At the end of September, the firm had 6,197 reps and advisers. The company, however, is engaging with recruits, Raymond James Financial chief executive Paul Reilly said in a statement. “We continue to retain and attract high-quality financial advisers to our multiple affiliation platforms, and we are excited about our recruiting pipeline for 2014,” he said.