Raymond James Settles with Oregon Over Excessive Commissions

Posted on July 24th, 2024 at 1:36 PM
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.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

If you find yourself in trouble with the regulators, call Eccleston Law, you won't regret it.

Rick R.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

March 4, 2026
Modern Fraud Schemes Escalate in Scale and Sophistication

A recent panel discussion at the Financial Services Institute OneVoice conference in San Diego highlighted how rapidly evolving fraud schemes continue to victimize both retail and wealthy investors.

March 3, 2026
FINRA Suspends Former Stifel Broker Over Costly Account Switching Trades

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) suspended a former Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.

March 2, 2026
FINRA Suspends Cetera Broker for Accepting $50,000 Client Bequest Without Firm Approval

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) imposed a $10,000 fine and a seven-month suspension on an independent broker for accepting a $50,000 bequest from a client without obtaining prior firm approval.