Last fall, Raymond James Ltd. committed to reaching $125 billion in assets under management (AUM) — from its current $88 billion — within five years, and the firm now has a digital transformation plan to realize that goal. The Canadian division of the U.S.-based independent investment bank and brokerage has invested in FNZ Group’s integrated wealth management platform.
“This isn’t just a technology upgrade,” said Jamie Coulter, CEO of Raymond James Ltd., in a release on Wednesday. “It’s a quantum leap in the support we provide our advisors in their delivery of exceptional client service.”
That leap will cost “tens of millions of dollars,” Coulter said in an interview, and will address the fragmented desktop with which many advisors across the industry are all too familiar. The investment is part of parent company Raymond James Financial Inc.’s US$1-billion allocation to tech and security infrastructure across the company globally in fiscal 2025.
FNZ, which has offices around the world including in Toronto, partners with more than 650 financial institutions and administers more than $2.4 trillion in assets, Wednesday’s release said.
As Raymond James implements the integrated FNZ wealth management platform over roughly three years, the firm will retire a couple dozen legacy systems, Coulter said. That means no more toggling among multiple applications to do something as simple as adding a TFSA to a client household.
The platform will handle “everything from trade settlement, clearing and custody all the way through the life cycle of a transaction for a client in an account, for example,” Coulter said. Further, embedded generative AI will help with such functions as client reporting and allowing advisors to research specific data within their practices.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing this roll out,” Coulter said.
Raymond James’ investment in FNZ follows more than three years of analysis as the firm compared platforms and consulted with staff, including advisors and personnel in operations and compliance.
Advisors told the firm to “give us time back,” Coulter said. “We should be freeing up advisor time so they can … continue to work with their existing clients, build new relationships [and] invest in their practice — whether it’s systems, processes [or] people.”
Raymond James isn’t the only firm spending big on tech upgrades to address advisor workflows and legacy systems, and to attract top-tier advisory talent. BMO Private Wealth is also transitioning to FNZ, beginning in 2026.
Raymond James uses Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.’s Dataphile system for its back office, and as the firm gradually shifts to the FNZ platform, “there will be tons of advisor workshops in conjunction with the FNZ folks, so that … everyone’s up to speed,” Coulter said.
Some friction arose as Manulife Wealth and Richardson Wealth Ltd. modernized their back offices in recent years, transitioning from Dataphile to Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC. Richardson attributed its problems to data transfer issues and user training.
Drawing on recent experience
Coulter said Raymond James’ move to automated client account opening with digital signatures, which coincided with the pandemic, helped prepare the firm to manage the FNZ rollout. While the FNZ implementation will be bigger in scope and scale, “I think we can draw on that recent experience,” he said.
Raymond James has about 520 independent advisors, as well as employee advisors and an investment counsel business. “I’m … indifferent as to which option an advisor chooses, just as long as they choose us,” Coulter said. The firm has capacity to run four advisory team transitions simultaneously, and “those teams are booked until January of next year,” he said.
A couple of years ago the firm acquired Vancouver-based Solus Trust Company Ltd., and most of the firm’s advisors “lean on financial planning and other kinds of estate management type services,” Coulter said. “The investment management piece is an important component, but it’s starting with a financial plan or the estate planning piece that’s proven to resonate more with clients.”
While 85% of the firm’s revenues are fee-based, advisors with transactional practices who want to make the switch are also potential candidates to join the firm. “There might be an advisor in another platform who may have more of a traditional-type practice but was looking for a catalyst to change … to a more planning, fee-based practice,” Coulter said. “Making that move from one platform to another is a great way to get that conversation going with your client bases.”
Coulter highlighted the capacity to scale with the FNZ implementation, positioning Raymond James to hit its five-year goal of $125-billion in AUM — a 42% increase, in line with the firm’s track record — without adding operational headcount. “We’re expecting … to do more with … less as we continue to scale the business,” he said. And as a result, “we’re not anticipating any significant grid changes over the course of the implementation period or after.”
Raymond James’ last wealth management acquisition was of Montreal-based MacDougall, MacDougall and MacTier Inc.in September 2016.
Alongside advisor growth, “an acquisition would be icing on the cake,” Coulter said.