Treating Customers Fairly

Raymond James Investment Services fully endorses the principles of Treating Customers Fairly and believe that they coincide with the Raymond James Financial Private Client Group Vision to be a premier financial services firm providing the highest level of value to clients.

What RJIS is Doing

RJIS strives to embed the principles of Treating Customers Fairly within our corporate culture. A member of the senior management team champions each of the following six areas:

  • Business Strategy and Values – Ensuring that the principles of Treating Customers Fairly are enshrined in everything we do.
  • Network Issues – Working with our branches and affiliated firms to ensure fair outcomes both for them and for the investor clients.
  • Product Design and Governance – Ensuring that fair treatment of customers is paramount in product design.
  • Marketing, Sales and Advice – Ensuring that promotions are fair, that customers understand the product, and that sales staff have the expertise to support the product.
  • After-Sales Issues – Reviewing our service standards to identify the areas that we can improve.
  • Management Information (MI) – Using MI to measure how successful we have been in implementing our strategy.

The RJIS TCF Policy below sets out some of the work RJIS has undertaken to date, along with how we are addressing TCF on an ongoing basis. Whilst our policy includes information on the support and guidance that our advisers receive, this is in addition to their own TCF initiatives. Your adviser will be able to further explain how he or she incorporates TCF into day to day business activities.

RJIS TCF Policy

The RJIS senior management team is committed to delivering the six ‘fair’ outcomes advocated by the FSA. This document sets out RJIS’ policy to ensure that they are delivered:

  • To train our staff on the principles of TCF.
  • To provide support and guidance to our Independent Contracting and Professional Partner branches in support of their own TCF initiatives.
  • To maintain a Training & Competence Scheme that supports the principles of TCF. In particular, for branch supervision to assess the delivery of fair outcomes to clients in terms of:
    • The provision of clear information
    • The suitability of advice
    • Ongoing product performance
  • To provide access to up-to-date training materials to help advisers address any gaps in their knowledge and expertise.
  • To review our policies and procedures not less than once a year to promote fair treatment and to identify potentially unfair treatment of our customers, and to publish these policies and procedures on the RJIS extranet used by our affiliates. Policies and procedures that relate directly to TCF are:
    • Execution Policy
    • Suitability Policy
    • Code of Conduct
    • Gifts and Inducements Policy
  • To maintain a Conflicts Policy that clearly articulates how head office and branch staff should manage actual and potential conflicts to ensure fair outcomes for clients.
  • To maintain a process for reviewing and approving Financial Promotions that ensures that marketing information provided to clients is clear and appropriate.
  • To consider TCF at the earliest stage of product development.
  • To operate a complaints procedure that is independent of our branches and investment advisers.
  • To collect, collate and maintain relevant MI to enable senior management to measure fair treatment, including:
    • Desk-based monitoring
    • Output from supervisory visits
    • Complaints data
    • Financial promotions
    • New business monitoring
  • To provide a report to the Board of RJIS not less than once a year.