Raymond James, Ltd., acquires London, Ont.-based Oak Trust Company | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

Raymond James, Ltd., the Canadian-based division of full-service investment advisory and brokerage Raymond James, has announced an agreement to acquire London, Ont.-based Oak Trust Company, a deal which will, when consummated and approved by the federal Minister of Finance and OSFI and by provincial financial services regulators, see the company renamed renamed Raymond James Trust (Canada).

Raymond James, Ltd., is one of the leading non-Big 6 bank owned carrying brokers in Canada (the type of broker which holds securities in its name on behalf of its clients and any introducing brokers that custody with them), behind only the likes of Fidelity Clearing Canada and maybe Pershing Canada (a subsidiary of BNY Mellon). They have more AUA than Questrade.

I did some digging, and it looks like Raymond James, Ltd., currently trustees registered plan assets with Canadian Western Trust Company, a subsidiary of Canadian Western Bank, and given that Raymond James, Ltd., Chair & CEO Paul Allison stated, with this acquisition, "Raymond James will be the first non-bank owned full service investment dealer in Canada to offer integrated fiduciary trust services," it's indicative that they intend to transition their clients' registered assets away from CWT to the renamed Raymond James Trust (Canada). This is likely to be a significant loss of AUA to CWT. It's a good thing it's a low margin business as CWT doesn't contribute significantly to CWB's fiscal bottom line.

Cheers,
Doug