Giannoulias Announces Illinois to Receive Part of $12.4 Million Settlement from Raymond James Financial Entities

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced today that Illinois is part of a $12.4 million settlement with Raymond James & Associates, Inc. and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Illinois is among five other states that discovered Raymond James entities had charged unreasonable commissions on trades that have harmed main street investors, including Illinoisans.

As part of the settlement, Raymond James will pay at least $8.2 million in refunds to clients nationwide and $4.2 million in penalties and costs to state securities regulators.

"This case will help ensure that investors are treated fairly by broker-dealers and financial services firms," Giannoulias said. "These companies must comply with protections currently in place. No matter how large or small an investor's transactions are, the state securities regulators in Illinois will ensure investors are protected."

Giannoulias noted that Illinois customers will receive $328,000 in restitution. The Secretary of State's Securities Department levied a $75,000 fine and will receive an additional $25,000 reimbursement for the cost of the investigation.

An investigation by the state securities regulators from Illinois, Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Montana and Washington concluded that Raymond James charged excessive commissions on over 270,000 low-principal amount equity transactions nationwide. The investigation found that Raymond James' commissions on transactions were more than 5% of the principal value, and Raymond James took up to 100% of proceeds from customer sales. Over five years, this amounted to more than $8,250,000 of excess commissions.

Raymond James agreed to confirm that its policies and procedures have been recently enhanced to ensure that commissions are fair and reasonable. One year after demonstrating its new policies and procedures, Raymond James will conduct a review to confirm they are being properly implemented. The review will be reported to the states involved in the investigation.

Giannoulias encouraged investors to contact the Illinois Secretary of State Securities Department at 800-628-7937 for investment questions or concerns. The Illinois Securities Department ensures that any person offering securities or providing financial services complies with the state's laws.

The Securities Department licenses and regulates financial services, including investment advisers, loan brokers and business brokers. Information about the Securities Department is available at ilsos.gov.