Raymond James in Canada: 25 Years
This newsletter was written by members of humanity.
This year marks 25 years since Raymond James began its journey in Canada. Over that time, the firm has grown alongside clients, advisors, and associates across the country, shaped by long-term thinking, independence, and trusted relationships.
While we are celebrating 25 years in Canada, our history extends much further. The firm’s broader roots span more than 170 years, and the values established over that time continue to guide how we operate today.
Our History
Raymond James officially entered the Canadian market in 2001, when it acquired Goepel McDermid, a firm whose roots date back to the firm Hector M. Chisholm & Co., founded in 1924. Goepel McDermid was one of Canada’s largest independent (i.e. non-bank) wealth management firms when it was acquired by Raymond James, with ~$4.5 billion in assets under administration in 2001.
From the period spanning 2001 to 2016, the foundations were laid for the modern-day firm, with rapid growth in assets under administration fueling our success. Raymond James’s focus on independence and a client-first culture attracted advisors from far and wide who wanted to serve their clients better.
In 2012, Raymond James took drastic steps to bolster the client experience launching Raymond James (USA) Ltd. (RJLU), a Canadian-based US-registered investment firm offering specialized advice to Americans living in Canada and Canadians living in the US for their cross-border investment needs. In this same year, Raymond James launched Raymond James Bank in Canada, a commercial bank, improving client access to a variety of security types, and established The Raymond James Canada Foundation, to support the company’s philanthropic programs and allowing Raymond James clients to establish charitable giving funds (CGFs). These steps helped differentiate Raymond James in Canada, allowing its advisors to provide services that went beyond that of many, if not all peers in Canada.
In 2016, Raymond James Ltd. combined with 3Macs, solidifying Raymond James as the largest independent wealth management firm in Canada with C$33bn in assets under administration at the time. 3Macs, or MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier, is now the oldest organization within Raymond James in Canada with its roots founded in 1849, 18 years before Confederation. With its beginnings as financial advisors to merchant marine captains, the firm went on to play an important part in the history of Canadian finance, including its pivotal role in the founding of the Montreal Stock Exchange.
Since this last major acquisition, Raymond James continued to expand the services it offers to its clients, notably building out Raymond James Trust (Canada) which ultimately merged with Solus Trust Co. Ltd. in 2023 to offer comprehensive trust and estate services nationwide and with the depth of expertise that is expected of Raymond James.
As of March 2026, Raymond James Ltd. now consists of a team of 2,000 associates and 520 independent advisors managing over $100 billion in assets under administration across more than 165 locations in Canada.
Our Future
Our ‘about us’ is really about you.
Over the years, Raymond James Ltd. has invested in its people and in technology so that its associates and advisors can provide the best and most timely service to their clients. ‘Our History’ captures some of this investment of capital and time into developing the resources used by the associates and advisors that make up Raymond James since its founding, and this investment continues to this day.
Technology. In June 2025, Raymond James Ltd. announced a strategic partnership with FNZ, a global wealth management platform provider, to deliver its next-generation wealth management platform. Under the agreement, Raymond James Ltd. will make a significant investment to accelerate the digital transformation of its wealth management infrastructure and elevate the advisor and client experience nationwide. The partnership will see Raymond James Ltd. leverage FNZ’s integrated, end-to-end wealth management platform—a deliberate and future-focused investment in modern infrastructure. Designed to deliver AI-powered capabilities, straight-through processing, and advanced digital capabilities, the FNZ platform will strengthen the Raymond James Ltd. unique value proposition. The new platform is built with a client-centric, digital-first design that improves efficiency, speed and personalization across the full wealth lifecycle. Advisors will gain a modern, intuitive operating environment, enabling more meaningful client engagements. Investors will benefit from improved digital experiences and real-time capabilities, all backed by the highest level of security and performance provided by the FNZ platform.
Cybersecurity. Safeguarding our clients isn’t just about diligent and consistent portfolio management but also involves safeguarding clients and their personal information from external threats. Raymond James expects to invest over $1 billion per year to enhance its information security infrastructure including its in-house Cyber Threat Center, a fascinating stop for anyone who visits Raymond James head office in Tampa Bay. Because support and security are of the utmost importance, Raymond James has an in-house team of professionals as well as specialized programs to provide technical assistance in order to prevent and detect intrusion or other suspicious activity. Our technological systems are monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for signs of attempted tampering or unauthorized activity. We employ the use of encryption, virtual private networks, penetration/-vulnerability testing, and the latest firewall and antivirus technology.
New, But Familiar Leadership. This month, Raymond James Ltd. announced the appointment of Peter Moores as CEO. Currently the CEO of Raymond James Investment Services in the UK, Peter has spent over 20 years immersed in our firm’s values and culture. His well-earned reputation as a champion for advisors combined with his track record for delivering growth ideally positions him to lead Raymond James Ltd.’s strategy going forward. Peter is a thoughtful leader who understands our values, Peter brings that experience along with the ability to successfully balance continuity with the progress we need to compete and grow.
These past and future investments Raymond James has created the foundation from which Steele Wealth Management was able to develop its comprehensive financial planning and holistic wealth management offering to clients.
We’re honoured to partner with a firm whose founding principles of client first, conservatism, independence and integrity remain refreshingly at the forefront, and especially appreciate the priority placed on supporting our relationships with our clients. Those values have helped Raymond James become one of the largest independent financial services firms in our industry, with a long-term track record of stability and growth.
NEWS AND OUR VIEWS
Iran War Swings From Military Sites to Energy Infrastructure and Production. In the first 1-2 weeks following the start of the Iran War on February 28th, the duration of and the extent of the damage, both inside and outside Iran, were largely up in the air. Many predicted that the duration would be short and the damage would be modest considering the US and Israel had previously launched a bombing campaign in June 2025 that lasted only 12 days, setting a precedent to some degree. In the early days of the current conflict, no party dared to attack energy infrastructure or other assets traditionally deemed to be untouchable, like Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant. As the conflict has progressed, energy infrastructure in Iran as well as in neighbouring Gulf states has come under attack, causing energy prices to spike as investor concerns about delayed oil and gas shipments have evolved into tangible reductions in oil and gas production capacity, increasing the odds of a global energy shortage. Strikes on targets near the Bushehr nuclear power plant and other nuclear power plants have raised concerns that no energy asset is off limits.
Our Take: Crossing these energy infrastructure red lines could result in long-term impacts to global oil and natural gas supply. High energy prices will have serious negative impacts on many European and Asian economies which are net energy importers and whose industries will struggle to operate amidst high energy costs or energy shortages. Shortly after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022, we saw energy prices spike in a similar fashion, and many energy-price-vulnerable economies were forced to shut-in production resulting in an economic recession. This time around, the energy price impact isn’t quite yet comparable to the reorganization of energy transportation caused by the Russo-Ukrainian war, but long-term damage to energy infrastructure could create a less acute but more long-lasting impairment to global energy supply. With that said, given the dynamics at play, there may be more ‘off-ramps’ available to the US, Israel and Iran to de-escalate this conflict than in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Re-establishing red lines that protect Middle Eastern energy assets, which account for 29% of global energy production and are vital to the global economy, will mark a key turning point in the conflict and the global economic outlook.
JUST FOR FUN
- The identity of Banksy, arguably the world’s most popular artist of the 21st century, has been determined to be Robin Gunningham, according to a recent Reuters investigation. Gunningham has long been the leading figure behind Banksy speculation – he grew up in Bristol, England, where Banksy’s earliest pieces began appearing in the 1990s, changed his name to David Jones, the most popular name in the UK at the time, and effectively fell off the grid (no tax records, employment records, property filings, etc.) after being accused as Banksy in the early 2000s. The alleged artist, Robin Gunningham, has declined to confirm that he is Banksy although the evidence is now quite compelling. The Reuters investigation revealed that in 2000, Gunningham was arrested in New York City while tagging a building and signed a confession including his birthdate. In 2022, a David Jones, traveled to Ukraine, where numerous Banksy murals have been discovered in recent years, with Robert Del Naja, the lead singer of Massive Attack and sometimes rumoured to be Banksy as well due to his artistic style and roots in Bristol, England. Robert Del Naja has previously stated that Banksy is his “mate”, and the David Jones that traveled to Ukraine has the same birthdate as the one provided by Robin Gunningham in the 2000 confession in New York City. While Gunningham can stick to denying that he is Banksy, this evidence may prove to hard to shake off.
- RIP Willie. Wiarton Willie, Canada’s most popular rodent weather forecaster and soothsayer to humans not fond of winter, was pronounced dead on Tuesday March 10th. Since 1956, on February 2nd each year, a Wiarton Willie emerges from his hole and if Willie sees his shadow due to sunny weather, winter lasts six more weeks but if it is cloudy and he sees no shadow, spring arrives early. The recently deceased version of Willie had a 3-year tenure searching for shadows in his crystal ball. Long-term estimates indicate that Willie has not been a good prognosticator, predicting the future accurately only 25%-50% of the time, depending on your source (those pro-groundhoggers carry some serious bias!). To dive into the cover-ups and controversies involving the Willies over the decades, click this article and skip to the end.
