Since Paul Reilly became CEO of Raymond James in 2010, revenues at the financial services firm have nearly doubled and the stock price has more than tripled to $90 a share. With revenues of $5.5 billion and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Raymond James is small compared to its huge competitors on Wall Street. So what’s the secret to its success?
The short answer: culture. Speaking with Fortune, Reilly says, “I tell people our results are because of the culture. We’re differentiated in our industry because of our culture. How we treat advisors, how we treat associates.” One of the benefits of that, he explains, is turnover is extremely low and the firm has an excellent track record when it comes to attracting new hires.
Another positive, says Reilly, is that his predecessor and the son of the firm’s founder, Thomas James, is still active at the company as Chairman Emeritus. Reilly says James still comes to the office every day and he has been a mentor and sounding board.
“I love having Tom around,” Reilly says adding that he often turns to James for advice. “It’s great to have somebody you can go in, shut the door, and have a great conversation where you’re just trying to get to the best answer.”
Watch the video above for more of our conversation with Paul Reilly.