Raymond James is so confident in its technology investments — particularly improving its mobile app for clients — that its chief executive believes advisors — not bots — will be the future of wealth management.

“Many companies, when they develop their customer application, it’s between the bank and the customer. Ours is designed to be between the advisor and the client, not the parent,” Reilly said Tuesday at a press conference on the sidelines of Raymond James’ 2022 Elevate conference.

Raymond James is working to make its Client Access mobile app “advisor interactive” by allowing the client to communicate with the advisor via video, Reilly said, adding that it may incorporate augmented reality in the future.

“There is a big difference between Robin Hoodthe average customer size of $3,000 and the average size of our customers,” Reilly said. “I’m not saying the technology isn’t good, but it’s how to use it for the customers we’re focused on – with minimum savings of $100,000+. The value isn’t in the trading and investing; it’s really about holistic planning and advice.

“We are not worried about direct applications. We just want to be able to support the client-advisor relationship. This is our goal,” he added.

Raymond James is investing $500 million in technology this year, according to Reilly.

“With all of our technology, we’re betting on the advisor and that the advisor will be the future, not the robo channels,” he said.

Raymond James plans to make the Client Access mobile app similar to the desktop experience “so that advisor and client have the same intimacy,” Reilly said last month during a call to discuss the benefits of the company for its second fiscal quarter which ended in March.

“What we’re focusing on now is the app that advisors and clients use together and unlike some competing apps, it’s not an app where the client can circle around the advisor for information. ; the advisor and client review the same information together,” a company spokesperson told FA-IQ last month.

Having advisors and clients see the same information in the mobile app is intended to make conversations about financial goals “more efficient and clear,” the spokesperson added.

The planned improvements are in part a response to feedback Raymond James has received from advisors.

The industry must do more to add to the pool of diversity

Meanwhile, while Raymond James is “a great community and home for diverse advisors,” there aren’t enough diverse advisors in the industry, Reilly said at the press conference this week.

“We’ve found that when recruiting, there just aren’t enough people to make a difference and frankly if you’re trying to make a societal difference, flying from company to company doesn’t make a difference. – a company’s stats go down by one, yours go up by one, that’s not the point,” Reilly said.

“The goal is really to make a difference in society, and you really need to help develop, nurture, nurture and train that talent,” he added.

Raymond James aims to improve diversity by engaging with “younger” diverse communities, according to Reilly.

“You watch ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ and the portrayal of that industry isn’t very family-friendly, which it absolutely is,” Reilly said, referring to the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

“We need to bring people in much earlier in their careers, really help them even in high school, certainly by the time they’re in college…coach them and develop them and integrate them into our training programs early on,” he said. -he adds.

For example, Raymond James provides financial literacy training in schools, especially those in downtown neighborhoods. He also has a mentorship program, Lunch Pals, in Pinellas County, Florida, where Raymond James’ St. Petersburg headquarters are located.

Back to the office

Raymond James has asked his associates to work in the office ‘two to three days a week’, and office footfall is ‘about 80% of what it was pre-Covid’, counting those in the office’ at least the majority of the week,” according to Reilly.

“People remember the value of being together, being in the office and solving problems,” he said.

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