Raymond James Nears $50M SEC Settlement Over Texting Issues

Raymond James Financial has agreed in principle to pay a $50 million civil penalty to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s probe related to off-channel business communications, according to a recent quarterly earnings report.

The proposed settlement stems from the SEC’s crackdown on financial firms sending messages over unauthorized channels, like mobile phone texts and messaging apps.

Raymond James has been cooperating with the SEC’s investigation of the firm’s compliance with records preservation requirements relating to communications sent over electronic messaging channels that the firm hadn’t approved, the firm said in an Aug. 6 filing.

“We have reached a settlement in principle with the SEC’s Division of Enforcement to resolve this investigation, which will include the payment of a $50 million civil monetary penalty,” Raymond James said in a statement.

The settlement is subject to SEC review and final approval.

Raymond James’ advisor headcount was 8,782 as of June 30 — up 78 from a year ago; this includes 4,970 independent advisors and 3,812 employee reps. Its Private Client Group had total assets under administration of $1.42 trillion in the second quarter.

SEC’s Texting Sweep

In October, Raymond James disclosed that it had reserved $55 million related to the SEC’s investigation of off-channel communications compliance. Other major investment firms have made similar disclosures.