Raymond James "Masters of Skim"

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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{{Raymond James & Associates Inc., the giant investments brokerage and asset management firm, has agreed to pay $8.2 million in restitution to settle allegations that it overcharged some customers for commissions on trades of stocks and other equities.

In addition to restitution, Raymond James & Associates and an affiliate, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., will pay $4.2 million in fines and penalties, according to the office of Secretary of State William Francis Galvin.

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In some instances, the commission was almost the size of the principal, the consent order says. Charging a $75 commission on an $82 trade would mean a customer paid a 91 percent commission.

“Numerous equity transactions executed by [Raymond James] included a commission in excess of 90 percent of the principal value of the transaction,” the consent order says.

The Securities Division considers any commission above 5 percent of the principal to be unlawfully excessive, the consent order says.}}

If they were in Texas, they would have gotten away with it.

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I bet that they carved out an exception for life insurance companies. They regularly rip off people for MASSIVE commissions and surrender fees and all sort of other crap they can come up with to rip off the consumer.

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Life insurance and annuities are regulated by the insurance commissioner. They don’t operate with the same level of disclosure as the securities industry – no doubt because they’ve bought off more politicians over the years.

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