U113076_Atish Bakshi_Raymond James Financial Inc.

STrategic management project report

Raymond James Financial Inc.

Atish Bakshi (U113076) Section B

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Acknowledgement

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Anshuman Tripathy for providing me the opportunity to work on this project which has been a source of great learning for me. This was my first interaction with Strategic Management as a course and it could not have been better. I am certain that the knowledge I acquired during the course of this project will offer me a platform for my future endeavors in this and related fields.

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Contents

1. Introduction............................................................................Page 4

2. Business Model Comparisons................................................Page 8

3. Activity System Map.............................................................Page 15

4. Vision, Mission and Objectives Comparisons......................Page 16

5 PESTEL and 5-Forces Analysis............................................Page 21-22

6. Strategy of Nearest Competitor.............................................Page 23

7. Evolution and Future of US Financial Services Industry.....Page 27

8. Industry Key Success Factors...............................................Page 30

9. References.............................................................................Page 32

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Introduction

Raymond James Financial is a diversified holding company, founded in 1962 through merger of two companies owned by Robert A. James and Edward Raymond. The company became public in 1983 and now trades in the New York Stock Exchange. The firm provides financial services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. The subsidiary companies of Raymond James Financial are primarily in the business of Investment and Financial Planning, Investment Banking and Asset Management. Apart from the subsidiaries, Raymond James Financial has 3 wholly owned broker-dealers which are Raymond James & Associates (RJ&A), Raymond James Financial Services (RJFS) and Raymond James Limited (RJL). It also has a majority stake in an independent contractor subsidiary in the U.K. named Raymond James Investment Services Limited (RJIS). On 2 April, 2012, there was a merger between Raymond James and Morgan Keegan and Company which created one of the largest wealth management and investment banking firms in the U.S., which are not headquartered in New York.

The corporate headquarters of Raymond James are located in St. Petersburg, Florida and it serves more than 2.5 million accounts in about 2,500 locations throughout the US, Canada and abroad.

Raymond James is lauded nationally for its whole-hearted community support and corporate philanthropic activities. It has been consistently ranked as one of the best customer services providers in the US and also as a great place to work. It is also one of the leading companies in support of arts.

Raymond James has been a profit making concern since its going public. The only unprofitable quarter it had came during the Black Monday period in 1987 when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 23% of its value on a single day.

Given below are some charts taken from the company's website depicting how it has performed in the last 10 years.

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(Source: http://www.raymondjames.com/annualreport/10year.htm)


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Business Model Comparisons

A business model can be defined as the manner in which an organization creates and delivers economic, social and cultural values. A business model is used to describe the core aspects of a company, including its mission, target markets, product/service offerings, business strategies, infrastructure, structure of organization, operating procedures and policies.

Here, we will look at the following:

Business Model of Raymond James under the heads Mission, Target Customers, Product/Service Offerings and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Business Model of Barclays under the heads Mission, Target Customers, Product/Service Offerings and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Business Model of Muthoot Finance under the heads Mission, Target Customers, Product/Service Offerings and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Business Model of SBI Capital Markets under the heads Mission, Target Customers, Product/Service Offerings and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The objective of the next few pages is to provide a comparison between the business models of Raymond James and those of an international firm (Barclays), a domestic firm (Muthoot Finance), and a Government-owned corporation (SBI Capital Markets).

It is to be noted that pricing forms an integral part of a business model. However, in the financial services industry, pricing of services depends on the amount of work to be done, the client's reputation, availability of resources (human or otherwise) etc. Thus there exists no fixed price of a service and it is determined on a case to case basis. Moreover, it is difficult to determine prices of services provided abroad due to currency changes. Hence, for the purpose of this report, pricing has been omitted.

Barclays, selected for comparing Raymond James with an international firm in similar industry, is primarily a provider of banking services. However, it does also provide asset management and investment banking services and hence has been included.

Business Model of Raymond James

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Mission (taken from http://www.raymondjames.com/about/mission.htm)

We must provide the highest level of service with integrity.

Assisting our clients in the attainment of their financial objectives is our most worthy enterprise.

We must communicate with our clients clearly and frequently.

Our investments and services must be of superior quality.

Teamwork – cooperating with and providing assistance and support to our fellow associates – is fundamental to sustaining a quality work environment that nurtures opportunities for unparalleled service, personal growth and job satisfaction.

Continuing education is necessary to maintain the timeliness of investment knowledge, tax law information and financial planning techniques.

Innovation is requisite to our survival in a changing world.

To emulate other members of our industry requires us to continue to work hard; to excel beyond our peers requires us to provide an even higher caliber of service to our clients.

We must give something back to the communities in which we live and work.

Target Customers and Product/Service Offerings

The 'Private Client Group', the retail segment of Raymond James comprises around 6200 financial advisors, affiliated to the company as employees, independent contractors, registered independent investment advisors or local bank and credit union employees. They provide services like securities transaction, investment advisory and financial planning for individual investors.

The 'Capital Markets Group' is the institutional segment of the company. It has two divisions : the Equity Capital Markets, which includes services like investment banking, equity research and equity sales and trading, and the Fixed Income, which includes services like Municipal and Taxable Fixed Income, Public Finance, and Research on Fixed Income. The company also has a Tax Credit Funds which syndicates low-income housing investments.

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The 'Asset Management Group' includes Asset Management Services providing fee-based management of individual portfolios of clients. Eagle Asset Management, a subsidiary of Raymond James provides options and products of mutual funds through separately managed accounts.

Raymond James Bank, a federally chartered national bank, provides loans for residential, consumption and commercial purposes as well as deposits. It participates actively in syndications of corporate loans.

Other services include proprietary capital operations, international joint-venture operations, stock loan/borrow, and other corporate activities.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Raymond James believes on the principle that the right thing to do is putting others ie, from clients to customers first. Raymond James invests time, money and talent into the communities it serves. This 'giving back to community' is done through different ways like supporting arts, United Way and Junior Achievements and a lot of educational, civil, social and philanthropic activities.

ACTIVITY SYSTEMS MAP OF RAYMOND JAMES

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Highest possible level of services

Client's Financial Well-being

Superior Investment Alternatives

Social Responsibility

Over 6200 advisors

Frequent Client

Interaction

Continuously Educating Employees

Innovation

Varied range of services offered 'Giving back to

community' Initiatives

Business Model of Barclays

Mission, Purpose and Values (taken from http://group.barclays.com/about-barclays/about-us#transform)

Becoming the 'Go-To' bank Helping people achieve their ambitions – in the right way. Build trust with the colleagues and partners we work with Seek out alternative perspectives and put our shared interests ahead of any individual or

team Collaborate proactively with colleagues across all of Barclays to get the best results Embrace, and seek to increase, the diversity of our organization. Show the courage to do and say the right thing Act in private as I do in public, and honor my commitments Challenge things I believe to be wrong and be open to challenge from others Be accountable for failure as well as success, and not allocate blame. Take the time to understand clients’ and customers’ needs, regardless of my role Always strive to surpass clients’ and customers’ expectations Create and provide solutions for clients and customers that balance the short and long

term In serving my clients and customers, incorporate the perspectives of all our stakeholders. Aim for flawless delivery and learn from my mistakes Take pride in both my own work and that of the team Actively contribute to the performance, development and engagement of my colleagues Create the environment to attract and keep the best people who share our values Pioneer innovative and better ways to do things Protect and enhance our reputation and legacy at all times Find ways to positively impact all of the communities we interact with Value sustainable progress as much as immediate achievements


Individuals:

World class Personal Banking services in 20 countries around the world. Premier Banking for eligible customers in selected countries. Wealth Management Brokerage Services

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Business Banking for small and medium sized business with specialist advice. International Banking

Corporates and Institutions:

Business Banking Corporate Banking ie integrated banking solutions across the world. Investment Banking Best-in-class Research Services Global Markets Offshore Services


Barclays believes in contributing not only financially, but impacting society at large by aligning

their community investment strategy to banking skills and experience.

"5 Million Young Futures" is a program wherein Barclays commits to invest not only money, but colleagues’ time and expertise in welfare of community that will enhance the enterprise, employability and financial skills of young people aged 10 to 35, by 2015.

Other ways in which Barclays carries out its social responsibilities are investing skills, time and money in partnerships with NGOs and charitable organizations.

Business Model of Muthoot Finance

Mission, Purpose and Values (taken from http://www.muthootfinance.com/about-us/)

To build leading customer-centric businesses enabled by technology, maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and uncompromising values.

The purpose at hand is to identify and utilize untapped sections of the market and reach out to as wide an audience as possible.

Our main aim is to put the needs of the customer first before anything else. We strive to provide you with the best quality of service under the Muthoot Brand Umbrella and we do the same with a smile.

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Accountability for all our operations & services and towards the society makes us a socially responsible and intelligent citizen. Our empire has grown leaps and bounds on the basis of these values. The times may change, but our values will remain unchanged.

With an unblemished track record throughout the markets we serve; and across national as well as global boundaries, Muthoot Finance values its commitment to customer-service.

We do not judge ourselves by the profit we make but by the trust and confidence that people have shown in us for the past 127 years. Over 6 million people have turned to us for help in their hour of need just because of this guiding principal of ours.

We pledge loyalty in our operations, fairness in our dealings and openness in our practices. At Muthoot Finance Ltd., we embrace policies and practices that fortify trust.

The value is innate to a corruption-free atmosphere and an open work culture. We at Muthoot Finance Ltd. therefore cultivate transparency as a work ethic.

Muthoot Finance serves more than 6 million customers across the country. We add over 80000 customers each day to our customer base. With an unmatched goodwill, the company shoulders the responsibility of creating a deserving brand image.


India's largest Gold Loan service provider. Leading Gold and Silver Coins provider. Muthoot Money Transfer. Foreign Exchange services. Muthoot Travelsmart, a leading travel services provider. Muthoot Insurance Brokers Ltd.


The Muthoot Group has a strong commitment of giving back to the society. Sustainability is the major focus of their CSR activities. The activities comprise, but are not limited to, education, healthcare, sanitation, financial parity and the environment. The objective is to balance corporate practices with welfare of the community by utilizing untapped resources to enhance economic and social health.

Some noteworthy activities and initiatives: Muthoot M. George Foundation Excellence Awards for Government School children, Muthoot M. George Memorial Tanker & Kerala Kidney Research Foundation, Muthoot Snehasraya etc.

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Business Model of SBI Capital Markets Limited

Mission, Purpose and Values (taken from http://www.sbicaps.com/Aboutus/Corp_Profile.aspx)

To provide Credible, Professional and Customer Focused world-class investment banking services.


Complete end to end corporate finance solutions to clients at all levels. Seamless investment banking advice and execution in capital market deals. Innovative fund raising solutions, both domestically and internationally in debt, equity

and hybrids. Cross border transactions.

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ACTIVITY SYSTEMS MAPS14

As Raymond James operates in the financial services industry and offers a wide array of services, we can draw an Activity Systems Map of another highly diversified financial services provider and compare it to Raymond James' activity systems map detailed earlier.

Since, financial services are not products, they do not have uniform prices throughout the industry but depend largely on client needs and requirements. Thus there is no so-called "low cost" financial services provider.

However, we can take an example of a highly diversified financial services provider and here, we will take Citigroup as our example.

ACTIVITY SYSTEMS MAP OF CITIGROUP

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One Goal : Serving clients and stakeholders

Responsible FinanceInnovation and Ingenuity

Exemplary Leadership

World's largest Credit Cards issuer

Transparent, Prudent &

Dependable Conduct

Citi Mortgage

Banking Services to 100,000 SMEs

4600 global branches, 1000 private bankers

State-of-the-art digitized Citi Smart

Retail Banking

Merchant Loyalty Program (Europe)

Talented and best-trained people

Urban Infrastructure Development

9 Athletes, 9 Programs

World-class financial products and

solutions

Investment Research And

Analysis

Neighborhood Revitalization

Enterprise Development

VISION, MISSION, OBJECTIVES COMPARISONS

AFRICA:

INVESTEC :

VISION AND MISSION

1. Distinctive Performanceo Outstanding talent - empowered, enabled and inspiredo Meritocracyo Passion, energy, stamina, tenacityo Entreprenuerial Spirit

2. Client Focuso Distinctive Offeringo Leverage resourceso Break china for the client

3. Dedicated Partnershipso Respect for otherso Embrace diversityo Open and honest dialogueo Unselfish contribution to colleagues, clients and society

4. Cast-iron Integrityo Moral Strengtho Risk Consciousnesso Highest Ethical Standards

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Meritocracy. Entrepreneurial spirit. Varied range of offerings. Diversity.

MISSION STATEMENT EVALUATION

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Customers Products/Services Markets Citizenship TeamworkYes No No Yes No

Technology Concern for Survival Philosophy Excellence IntegrityNo No Yes No No

Self-concept Concern for Public Image

Employees OVERALL Average

Yes Yes Yes

SOUTH AMERICA:

BANCO SANTANDER :

VISION AND MISSION

(taken from www.santanderconsumerusa.com)

To be recognized as a highly respected originator and servicer that delivers specialized solutions to consumers across the full credit spectrum while providing exceptional service, responsibly managing risk and fulfilling our responsibilities to stakeholders: associates, customers, investors and shareholders.

Our People - Our people are our greatest asset. We strive to create a collaborative environment where we value each other's efforts and contributions.

Respect - We treat each other with the highest degree of dignity, equality and trust. We are committed to communicating openly and clearly, and we pledge to remain professional at all times.

Excellence - We see ourselves as best in class, continually improving and constantly exceeding standards. We strive to exceed expectations and hold ourselves to high standards of performance.

Service - We are in business to serve our customers, our community, and our colleagues. We work to identify customer needs and solve issues in a timely manner.

Performance - We are a fast-paced, results-driven company, constantly striving to reach new goals and objectives.

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DOES IT INCLUDE ? DOES IT MENTION VALUES LIKE.......?

Fiscal Responsibility - We are efficient, accountable, and honest as we support a conservative use of resources.

Entrepreneurial - We are innovators, we think like owners and we work collaboratively. We identify opportunities to learn new skills and share new ideas.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Collaborative and congenial work environment. Timely solutions of customer issues. Accountability of activities. Innovation.


Customers Products/Services Markets Citizenship TeamworkNo No No Yes Yes

Technology Concern for Survival Philosophy Excellence IntegrityNo No Yes Yes Yes


Employees OVERALL Poor

No No Yes

EUROPE :

SOCIETE GENERALE :

VISION AND MISSION

(taken from http://www.societegenerale.com/en/about-us/our-identity)

To achieve mutual long-term sustainable growth and operational excellence with clients through:

Focusing on our core values of professionalism, innovation, and team spirit Growing human capital Commitment to the long-term development of the local financial industry

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KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Relationship of trust with clients. Anticipating future practices and staying a step ahead of customers’ needs. Utmost professionalism in daily interactions with customers and major projects for the

future.


NORTH AMERICA :

BLACKROCK

VISION AND MISSION

(taken from http://www.blackrock.com/corporate/en-in/about-us/mission-and-principles)

We are fiduciary to our clients. We are passionate about performance. We are one Blackrock. We are innovators.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Fair and equal representation of clients. Out-think and out-work competitors. Strength in diversity. Continuous innovation.


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Customers Products/Services Markets Citizenship TeamworkYes No Yes No Yes

Technology Concern for Survival Philosophy Excellence IntegrityYes No No No No


Employees OVERALL Average

No Yes Yes

ASIA (INDIA) :

MOTILAL OSWAL FINANCIAL SERVICES

VISION AND MISSION

(taken http://www.motilaloswal.com/Financial-Services/About-Us/Who-We-Are/content/C6/Tab42)

To be a well respected and preferred global financial services organization enabling wealth creation for all our customers.

Integrity Team Work Meritocracy Passion and Attitude Excellence in Execution


External And Industry Environment Analysis

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Customers Products/Services Markets Citizenship TeamworkYes No No No No

Technology Concern for Survival Philosophy Excellence IntegrityNo No Yes Yes No



Yes No No

Customers Products/Services Markets Citizenship TeamworkNo No No No Yes

Technology Concern for Survival Philosophy Excellence IntegrityNo No No Yes Yes



No No No

PESTEL ANALYSIS

PORTER'S 5-FORCES ANALYSIS

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POLITICAL

Political connections Obama's QE tapering

SOCIAL

Investing in clean energy projects


ENVIRONMENTAL

Green initiatives

TECHNOLOGICAL

Reducing energy consumption

Increasing utilization by virtualizing software

Employee-owned remote access technology

Virtual desktop infrastructure

LEGAL

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Basel III requirements

ECONOMIC

Interest rate changes Unemployment Inflation Economic growth Exchange rates

Bargaining Power of Suppliers : LOW

No product suppliers. Suppliers of equipment have

very little power due to high number of suppliers.

Services are created by the firm itself.

Bargaining Power of Customers : HIGH

Significant costs of many services.

Large number of reputed competitors.

Client contracts are usually short term in nature.

Strategy Of Closest Competitor

(Goldman Sachs)

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Bargaining Power of Suppliers : LOW

No product suppliers. Suppliers of equipment have

very little power due to high number of suppliers.

Services are created by the firm itself.

Bargaining Power of Customers : HIGH

Significant costs of many services.

Large number of reputed competitors.

Client contracts are usually short term in nature.

Threat of New Competitors : LOW

High sunk costs serve as barrier to competition.

Strong brand reputation important.

Customers do not easily switch.

Initial capital requirement is high.

Legal formalities are stringent.

In the following few pages the strategy of Raymond James' closest competitor, Goldman Sachs is analyzed. We first see the initial strategic orientation of Goldman Sachs, followed by their current orientation. Then we look at their strategies specifically relating to the internal and external environments.

Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking, security management and investments management firm, provides financial services to a huge client base consisting of corporations, governments, financial institutions and HNIs.

Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 and presently has headquarters in New York and offices in Frankfurt, Tokyo, London, Hong Kong and other global financial centers.

Goldman Sachs has around 35000 employees.

Initial Strategic Orientation

Goldman Sachs initially focused more on Investment Banking activities, which are more lucrative than other services. The firm had a reputation of being a high risk-appetite company and not customer-oriented. Goldman Sachs was oriented towards making money in the long run and any short term trading losses were ignored.

At Goldman Sachs customer were never been put into the centre of the company’s strategy, the firm was more focused on sales and profits. Jobber explained that

‘A sales-orientated company has little focus on customer needs and wants, and does not try hard to create products or services that are suitable for their customers needs’.

Jobber, D. (2007)

This sales strategy has been heavily criticized with many financial issues, the biggest being USA's sub-prime mortgage crisis. Even in midst of the mortgage crisis, Goldman profited from the collapse of subprime mortgage bonds. As the crisis began to unravel the firm’s brand image and reputation took a bad hit due to allegations of fraud and collusion.

Current Strategic Orientation

Goldman Sachs realized that the existing sales approach was not doing any good for the image of the company and there was a need for focusing more on a customer-oriented strategy.

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Goldman Sachs is currently attempting to clear its supposedly shady image and has shifted focus into more societal and ethical issues. The firm has become more involved in giving back to the society. It has realized the importance of consumer's right issues.

The company has 14 clear operating business principles outlined on the company’s website along with the tagline ‘Progress is everyone’s business'. But it has emphasized more on its first business principle ie, providing value to their client.

Below is a diagram showing some of the important principles outlined by Goldman Sachs.

Strategy related to Internal(micro) Environment

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Goldman Sachs always carefully selects its resources. They hire the best brains in the industry and usually recruit the best students from the best universities across the world. The selection process is extremely rigorous and consists of multiple rounds.

When it comes to selecting suppliers/vendors, Goldman Sachs' strategy is to broaden its supplier base to help it gain new ideas, better competition and better overall value for their money. Vendor selection is a rigorous process at Goldman Sachs. The following criteria need to be fulfilled by prospective vendors to be selected:

top quality products/services best-in-class customer service competitive pricing ability to help Goldman Sachs achieve their business goal impact on environment and society at large

The strategy for Goldman Sachs towards customer acquisition involves targeting HNIs, large corporations, financial institutions, Insurance companies, public pension funds, Non-profit institutions etc.

Strategy related to External(macro) Environment

Goldman Sachs has displayed excellent business farsightedness in considering demographic changes. A lot of effort and vigilance has been undertaken to factor in the consequences of possible future changes relating to population like spending patterns, preference of certain specific financial services etc.

Furthermore, Goldman Sachs attempts to leverage the most underutilized asset for any nation-women.

Goldman Sachs' close connection with political parties worldwide, especially with the U.S. Govt. is an important part of its strategy. In fact, powerful posts in the U.S. Govt. like Treasury, Federal Reserve have been held by Goldman Sachs employees.

On the technological front, Goldman's strategy is to harness the latest technological developments to provide quality products/services at lower prices.

Goldman Sachs' Environmental Policy Framework states their commitment to ensuring effective, market-based solutions for addressing climatic changes, ecosystem degradation and other issues to create business opportunities which also benefit the environment.

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Evolution And Future Of The Financial Services Industry In USA

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The financial system in any country basically serves three functions:

a) It transfers funds from the savers (mainly households) to the borrowers (mainly

corporate). For this the financial system pools funds and monitors borrowers.

b) It provides a means of payments and aids in the exchange of goods/services.

c) It provides insurance and information related to trading.

When we look at the financial services industry in the U.S., we find large variations in the

economic importance of Finance. From being high in 1920s, it collapsed in the 1930s and 40s,

down to only 2.5% of GDP in 1947. This was followed by a slow recovery until the late 70s and

then a rapid growth to reach 8% of GDP in 2006. There is a complex relationship between

Finance and the rest of the economy. This can be seen from the fact that 1960s was a period of

high economic growth but low financial intermediation. The pattern was reversed in 1980s and

then again in 1990s.

The 1890s and 1920s were periods of rapid entry and investment by firms with large financial

needs. These needs reduced during the two World Wars. After World War II, the market was

dominated mainly by large established firms with huge cash flows. Thus demand for financial

intermediation was low. In the 1970s, new and young firms with low cash flows began to bite

away investment opportunities from the big players. This increased the demand for financial

intermediaries.

From the supply side, 1930s was a bleak period for financial services. The financial industry was

hit by inefficiency and a large number of firms faced credit crisis. This led to the Great

Depression. Efficiency increased somewhat after the War but still remained low till the 1990s

when the investment boom occurred.

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Figure 1 depicts the share of the Finance industry in the U.S. GDP estimated from 1850 to 2007.

We can see that the story is one of three waves and two crashes (2008 crisis not included). The

financial industry was around 1.5% of GDP in the 1850s. The first major increase (1880-1900)

was due to financing of railroads and heavy industries.

The second big increase (1918-1933) was owing to the Electricity Revolution and the growth

automobile and pharmaceutical industries.

After a steady collapse in the 1930s and 40s, the share of finance in U.S. GDP fell to 2.5% in

1947. Recovering after the war, it was stable at around 4% until the late 1970s.

The third large increase, from 1980 to 2001, was down to the IT revolution and the share went up

to 8.3% of GDP.

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Fig: 1 GDP Share of U.S. Financial Industry

Figure 2 shows the evolution of the various subsections (Credit Intermediation, Insurance, Trusts

and Funds, Private Equity and Investment Banking) of the finance industry from 1977 to 2006.

We see that credit intermediation dominates the industry and is growing the fastest with

investment banking and brokerage activities.

The Future

After the massive consolidation of commercial banking since the 1980s experts are expecting

further consolidation both within and across segments of the financial industry. The number of

commercial banks is expected to decline over the years, with growth in other financial businesses

specializing in providing a narrower range of financial services. An increase in number of

combinations between U.S.-based and foreign-based entities is predicted. With such

expectations, supervisory and regulatory priorities need to be defined in the areas of safety and

soundness and competition policies. The current state of regulations for maintaining capital

adequacy, currently governed by the Basel Accord, needs reforms. A second priority for

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Fig 2: GDP Shares of Finance Industries

regulators is to develop rules and policies to ensure that no bank is too big to fail. This is

especially required after the recent crisis involving Lehman Brothers.

Key Industry Success Factors What Raymond James is doing?Measuring Marketing Efforts: According to

the Journal of Financial Services Marketing,

tracking the results of marketing activities is

key to building a successful financial services

business . The tracking system has to take

consider how marketing efforts improve return

on investment while solving client’s financial

needs. Consistent tracking helps to identify

which marketing strategies provide best value

and sell the most number of financial

products/services.

Raymond James financial advisors have access

to a full-service, in-house marketing and

advertising agency made up of seasoned

professionals with one goal: to help financial

advisors grow their businesses.

Every year hundreds of advisors help develop

marketing plans that help them build their

brands, enhance their communications and

increase their visibility in their communities.

Communicating Brand: Getting both

employees and customers to recognize the

brand and buy into it. Implementation and

communication of brand promises and delivery

based on clients' challenges, needs and feelings

are crucial. At the same time, you need to

encourage management to understand the

importance of establishing your brand through

identifying and educating your target market as

to the importance of buying financial services

from your company rather than from a

competitor.

The marketing division at Raymond James

consistently strives for understanding client

needs and delivering the best service possible.

Focus on Needs: The ever-increasing needs of Raymond James provides a range of

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baby boomers and Gen-Y require financial

services providers to come up with specific and

specialized product and services, according to

a report by Banking.com. These customers

require consulting and products/services that

aid in better financial decision-making. Small

businesses that credit, insurance and

investment advice may be the next big clients

of financial services providers.

investment products that is both broad and

deep, because it feels that clients' strategies

change with their lifestyle and needs – and a

changing strategy requires alterations to

portfolios.

Utilizing Technology: Customers want instant

accessibility to their accounts, marking the

importance of wireless networks and Internet.

By investing in applications powered by cloud

computing and social media sites and handheld

devices, companies can help customers easily

manage investments and purchase financial

products. By utilizing data gathered from use

of technology, companies can respond more

quickly to customer’s needs and come up with

new offerings. This gives the company a

competitive advantage over other financial

service providers who are slow to react.

Raymond James operates most recent

technology to keep ahead of its competitors. It

even provides technology consulting to clients.

References

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1. http://www.raymondjames.com/ecm/rjtechnologybanking/2. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/key-success-factors-financial-services-63370.html3. http://mcorpconsulting.com/about/media/a-survey-of-key-success-factors-in-financial-services-

marketing-and-brand-management/4. http://www.raymondjames.com/about/social_responsibility/5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_James_Financial6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_model7. http://www.investor.barclays.com/results/2001results/annual_report/website/lblue/lblue.html8. http://group.barclays.com/about-barclays/about-us/transform/values

9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginnie_Mae

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