Raymond James Financial's aggressive push to attract high-producing advisors is showing up in its financial statements. According to a recent quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm's recruiting loan balances climbed 19 percent, reaching $1.54 billion as of June 30.
The firm, which has roughly 8,800 advisors, has been increasing recruiting offers to secure top-tier teams. According to AdvisorHub, CEO Paul Shoukry told analysts that the firm is seeing a "robust recruiting pipeline and strong level of commitments" at a pace unmatched since the 2008 financial crisis. Over the past year, the company brought in independent and employee advisors with $336 million in annual production and $52 billion in client assets from their previous firms, though it did not disclose the number of recruits.
Shoukry also noted that valuations, especially among independent practices, remain "lofty" due to competition from private equity and consolidation firms.
AdvisorHub also reports that regional rival Stifel Financial reported similar competitive pressures. In its own Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Stifel disclosed it paid $127.9 million in "upfront notes" in the first six months of 2025, nearly identical to the $127 million paid in the same period of 2024. These figures represent the actual recruiting loans granted during the period, not the total outstanding balance.
Stifel stated that ongoing market disruption and heightened competition for talent could lead the firm to allocate even more resources toward recruitment and retention. The company, which stopped reporting advisor headcount in quarterly results, had 2,340 advisors at the end of the first quarter, according to AdvisorHub.
As reported by AdvisorHub, Stifel has added 29 experienced advisors through recruiting, in line with the 28 hires in the same period last year. CEO Ron Kruszewski expressed satisfaction with progress on "high-end, big teams" but acknowledged that competition from RIA platforms and broader market conditions slowed momentum in the latter half of 2024.
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