Press Release

Release No. 1005-02
October 17, 2005

COURT JAMES NAMED RAYMOND JAMES
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Courtland W. James has been named director of human resources for Raymond James, according to President and Chief Operating Officer Chet Helck.

“After an exhaustive search of external and internal candidates, we are pleased to have Court join us in this crucial role,” Helck stated. “Attracting, managing and retaining associates is at the core of our firm’s success and we believe Court’s skills will allow us to further enhance our human resources capabilities.”

James brings significant industry experience and in-depth understanding of Raymond James to this position. Most recently, he has served in the firm’s operations and client services area, where he has been focused on improving operational effectiveness. He has also worked in private equity as a member of Raymond James’ merchant banking effort and prior to that was with Montgomery Securities as an investment banker.

James holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and also graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Vanderbilt University.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE-RJF) is a Florida-based diversified holding company providing financial services to individuals, corporations and municipalities through its subsidiary companies. Its three wholly owned broker/dealers, Raymond James & Associates, Raymond James Financial Services and Raymond James Ltd. have more than 4,800 financial advisors serving 1.3 million accounts in 2,100 locations throughout the United States, Canada  and overseas. In addition, total client assets are approximately $147 billion, of which approximately $27 billion are managed by the firm’s asset management subsidiaries.

To the extent that Raymond James makes or publishes forward-looking statements (regarding management expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated expense savings, financial results, anticipated results of litigation and regulatory proceedings, and other similar matters), a variety of factors, many of which are beyond Raymond James’ control, could cause actual results and experiences to differ materially from the expectations and objectives expressed in these statements. These factors are described in Raymond James’ 2004 annual report on Form 10-K, which is available on raymondjames.com and sec.gov

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For more information, please contact Steve Valley at 727-567-3035.
Please visit the Raymond James Press Center at raymondames.com/media.