May 23 (Reuters) – Regional brokerage and investment bank
Raymond James Financial on Wednesday said equity capital
markets business in April continued to lag 2011 levels, and that
markets in May so far remain challenging and volatile.
“The first three weeks of May were challenging for equity
markets, allegedly a reaction to the uncertainty in European
markets,” Raymond James Chief Executive Paul Reilly said in the
firm’s monthly operations update. Looking ahead, “we may
experience more volatility in the equity markets.”
The fixed-income business, on the other hand, is tripling in
size as Raymond James integrates Morgan Keegan’s much-larger
operations.
The firms’ private client revenue in April rose 1.4 percent
from March, reflecting the growth of fee-based assets in the
first quarter. Morgan Keegan’s private client group revenues
were in line with the firm’s expectations.
The April results are the first to reflect the April 2
takeover of Morgan Keegan. Total client assets rose to $376
billion from $292 billion in March, while securities commissions
and fees rose to $253 million from $186.3 million.
