Raymond James Settles with Oregon Over Excessive Commissions
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
Raymond James recently settled a case with Oregon's Division of Financial Regulation (“DFR”), agreeing to pay nearly $200,000 over allegations of charging excessive commissions to retail investors.
According to InvestmentNews, the DFR concluded that from July 2018 to July 2023, Raymond James applied commissions deemed "unreasonable" — defined as exceeding 5 percent of the principal value — on over 270,000 equity transactions. The firm imposed a minimum commission of $75 on certain trades, irrespective of whether such charges were justified, according to the consent order published by the DFR. This practice resulted in alleged overcharges totaling $8.25 million nationwide, with some commissions reportedly surpassing 90 percent of the trade's principal value.
As part of the settlement, Raymond James agreed to restitution totaling $109,349.94, including interest, to affected investors in Oregon. Additionally, the firm will pay a civil penalty of $75,000 to the State of Oregon. To prevent future occurrences, Raymond James committed to revising its policies and procedures to ensure commissions are "fair and reasonable," as outlined by the DFR.
Raymond James resolved the matter without admitting or denying the allegations, a common approach in such settlements to avoid protracted legal proceedings while addressing regulatory concerns.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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