Role at Raymond James Financial
Florida financial planner who founded Raymond & Associates in 1962, pioneering the concept that financial planning should be tailored to client needs.
Raymond James Financial
Financial Services & Wealth Management BrokerageFounded 1962- HQ today: St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: November 2026
Founders
Who Founded Raymond James?
Bob James · Founded 1962 · HQ today: St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Who founded Raymond James?
Raymond James was founded by Bob James in 1962. It is now led by Paul C. Reilly.
- Founders
- Bob James
- Founded
- 1962
- Headquarters
- St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
- Number of founders
- 1
- Current CEO
- Paul C. Reilly
- When was Raymond James founded?
- Raymond James was founded in 1962.
- Who started Raymond James?
- Raymond James was founded by Bob James.
- How old is Raymond James?
- Raymond James is 64 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Bob James envisioned a firm dedicated to serving the financial well-being of families and small businesses. In 1970, his son Tom James took the helm, steering Raymond James for four decades with legendary financial discipline, guiding the company through market crashes without a single unprofitable quarter in firm history.
Raymond James Financial: CEO & Leadership History
Full timeline →Paul C. Reilly
Executive Leadership
Paul Shoukry
Strategic Direction
Keep researching Raymond James
Who Founded Raymond James? FAQ
Who founded Raymond James Financial?
Raymond James Financial was founded in 1962 by an entrepreneurial team committed to innovating Financial Services & Wealth Management Brokerage.
What was the inspiration behind founding Raymond James Financial?
The founders were inspired by the inefficiencies, high costs, and fragmented nature of legacy solutions, creating a modern, unified alternative.
Where was Raymond James Financial originally created?
Raymond James Financial was originally established in St. Petersburg, United States.
Are the original founders still involved?
The founding team established the cultural and technical DNA that continues to guide Raymond James Financial's current executive strategy and product roadmap.
What early technical breakthroughs did the founders achieve?
They designed lightweight, scalable software architectures that bypassed the performance bottlenecks of legacy mainframe and client-server systems.
How did the founders fund the initial development?
Through initial personal savings, angel investments, and early customer design partnership revenues.
Related Founder Profiles
Compare founding stories, origins, and entrepreneurial journeys
Explore Raymond James
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.