Raymond James: Commitment to Service, Integrity and Conservative Management

In these difficult economic times, Raymond James' longstanding commitment to prudent management, careful planning and placing client needs ahead of all else is more important than ever before.

Although that commitment has enabled Raymond James to avoid the bulk of the financial sector's ills, the firm is not immune to the underlying issues. However, although net income fell 42 percent to $67.2 million during the six months ended March 31, 2009, net revenues fared quite well given the circumstances, declining only 9 percent. In fact, Raymond James has remained profitable during the worst period that it has experienced since 1973-75.

We believe these results validate yet again the firm's values of conservative management and responsible planning. Furthermore, Raymond James understands the importance of gaining and retaining clients' trust – trust that must be constantly earned through actions designed to serve them well.

That philosophy has not only helped us to sustain 83 consecutive quarters of positive earnings, it has contributed to our position as one of the leading diversified financial services firms in the United States.

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Raymond James' continuing strength and stability stem directly from the key principles on which the company was founded. Those same principles are also at the core of Raymond James' recently announced succession plan. Designed to enable its current and future CEOs to work closely together to meet the challenges facing the financial services industry as a whole and our clients in particular, this carefully thought-out, long-term plan has been in the making for some time.

As you may know, Paul Reilly became the president of Raymond James as of May 1. Selected by Chairman and CEO Tom James, with the support of senior management and the Raymond James Board of Directors, Reilly will take on the additional role of CEO in May 2010, at which point James will assume a full-time, active role as executive chairman of the board.

Chosen for his financial acumen, his success in running public companies and his dedication to the tenets that govern Raymond James, Reilly joined the firm's board of directors in 2005. Formerly executive chairman of global search firm Korn/Ferry International (NYSE-KFY), he earlier served as CEO of KPMG International, a firm with more than 100,000 employees and annual revenues of $12 billion.

Both the succession plan and Paul Reilly's selection were designed to ensure that the strong leadership, conservative management and commitment to client needs that have served Raymond James and its clients so well will remain in place over the long term.

That careful planning also underscores the emphasis on strength and stability for which Raymond James already is widely recognized. To view some of the accolades that we have recently received, please visit the Raymond James Accolades page.

Particularly in this quickly changing and often challenging environment, you need and deserve the very best service, expertise and guidance available. Please be assured that all of us at Raymond James are hard at work to deliver just that.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. The information provided here is for informational purposes only, and is not a solicitation to buy or sell Raymond James Financial stock.