When Paul Allison joined Raymond James Ltd. a year ago, he had no idea he was stepping into the Toronto-based brokerage’s top job just as stock markets and the global economy were about to collapse.

After working as co-president and co-CEO with then incumbent CEO Peter Bailey for the first few months, and taking over fully when Bailey left in January, Allison is now forging ahead on an aggressive expansion strategy at a time when many firms are culling their ranks and cutting costs.

Raymond James has added 84 advi-sors since October 2008, bringing the total number to 460 advisors working in 99 offices across Canada.

“Financial advisors are attracted to a firm that takes a long-term, conservative approach, that’s financially strong and that understands the need for independence on the part of advisors,” Allison says. “The recent market conditions did not change our approach; it has always been thoughtful and designed for longevity. In fact, it was designed to weather tough markets.”

The firm’s policy is to conserve its own capital — and capital preservation in client portfolios is an extension of this philosophy, Allison says. As a result, Raymond James entered the downturn in a position of financial strength, remains profitable and is able to continue to hire and support top-quality advisors. Allison expects the capacity of those advisors to build their business will contribute further to the financial strength of the firm, enabling it to add to its services and attract even more top-producing advisors.

“We want to help our advisors grow and be successful, not only in good years but in tough years,” Allison says. “There is a strong focus on education and professionalism, and we make sure advisors have the tools they need to build their businesses.”

Allison has always had a passion for the investment business. Originally educated as an engineer, he subsequently added an MBA before heading into the workforce. During the two years he spent as an engineer in Vancouver with Imperial Oil Ltd., he took the Canadian securities course and developed a passion for managing his own investments. Returning to Toronto, he began making contacts in the investment industry and landed his first job at Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. as an investment banker in 1986.

Allison later gained experience in capital markets and the private-client side of the business and made a move to BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. He then spent seven years at Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. as co-head of investment banking and vice chairman before making the leap to Raymond James, which he describes as a firm “rooted” in private banking or individual wealth management.

“We are a pure investment advisory firm, independent of the banks,” Allison says. “And that gives us the freedom to offer any number of investment solutions without any clouding of the issues.”

At Raymond James, Alllison is determined to keep expanding; within three years, he wants to see the number of advisors mushroom to 600 and a corresponding rise in the firm’s assets under administration to $30 billion from $12 billion today. The growth in AUA is likely to benefit from what he calls a “whiplash” effect, as advisors who join the firm when their books have been beaten up by the market downturn ultimately benefit from recovery and the addition of new clients.

Raymond James is wholly owned by its U.S.-based parent, Raymond James Financial Inc., and employee share ownership in the parent firm is one of the enticements that the Canadian arm can use to lure top-producing advi-sors from competitors. But Raymond James also takes pride in its entrepreneurial culture, which allows advisors to develop their chosen niche, cultivate an individual style and employ some of their own personalized marketing strategies.

There is no pushing of proprietary products, although there is a strong focus on presenting solid investment ideas with growth potential. As a full-service dealer in its research, capital markets and investment-banking activities, Raymond James targets mid-sized, growth-oriented companies — and this is fertile territory for investment ideas. Raymond James advisors are able to take advantage of research conducted by the parent firm as well as by the Canadian division, in addition to that provided by Zurich-based bank Credit Suisse Group.

The recent decision to hire industry veteran Mario Addeo as senior vice president and head of fixed-income is indicative of Raymond James’ strategy to place more emphasis on income-producing securities. Addeo brings 25 years of private-client and capital markets experience to his new role, having held senior positions at CIBC World Markets Inc., Merrill Lynch Canada and Midland Walywn Inc.

@page_break@“In market downturns, the fixed-income side can add significant value to a balanced portfolio,” Allison says. “As clients age, they want to add a more secure cornerstone to their portfolio, and there is a growing interest in increasing the fixed-income component.”

Allison says he expects Raymond James to be an “innovator” of fixed-income products, which could include everything from traditional bonds to closed-end funds holding a mixed bag of income-producing securities.

Unlike some Canadian offshoots of global securities firms, Raymond James has an independent management team and its own board of directors. It operates autonomously, although there is some exchange of research and business-building ideas with its parent.

“There are many synergies,” Allison says. “On the research side, a U.S.-based analyst may cover a Canadian company, or vice versa. There is regular dialogue with our U.S. counterparts in all areas of the business.”

Allison says he enjoys the opportunity to learn from the network of some 4,500 advisors south of the border. Among the most significant ideas imported from the U.S. is the firm’s strategy of appealing to a broad cross-section of advisors by offering a choice of two business platforms: the independent agent and the employee.

The employee system is the traditional approach, in which advisors are housed in branches paid for by the firm, along with support staff and branch management. In the independent agent model, advisors receive higher compensation and are responsible for their own infrastructure, including building costs, furniture, equipment and staff.

“It’s a matter of how each advisor wants to build his or her business. We call it the ‘Business Your Way’ approach,” Allison says. “We haven’t determined a particular mix of independent agents vs employees, but there has been more growth in the independent agent model, due to some pent-up demand on the part of advisors who want to work that way.”

Although some advisors prefer to work in one- or two-person offices, other offices, such as the downtown Toronto branch or the Cathedral branch in Vancouver, have 40 or 50 advisors. Raymond James supports its nationwide network with regular visits and communications from head office, but also allows advisors to pick their own client market. Rather than national ad campaigns, the firm supports branches by co-branding local events that raise their profile in their communities.

Allison has been meeting this summer with advisors in big centres and small offices. He expects to have made contact in person with advisors at all 99 offices by the year’s end. Communication is a top priority, and he supplements the personal contact with ongoing notes and regular conference calls. With 85% of new advisors coming from referrals from existing Raymond James advisors, Allison deduces there is a high level of satisfaction: “Freedom of choice is everything. The client belongs to the advisor, and Raymond James, in turn, treats the advisor like our client. If advisors are happy, they will want to stay and build their businesses.”

When not at his desk, Allison enjoys keeping fit with golf and cycling. He recently biked to his cottage near Haliburton, Ont., where he enjoys relaxing with his family. An active volunteer, he sits on the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada’s corporate finance committee and on McMaster University’s business advisory council and trading floor committee. He is also a member of the board of directors of Humber River Regional Hospital in Toronto.

IE