The announcement was made during the first quarter earnings conference in late January by Raymond James chief executive officer Paul Reilly, who updated listeners on the integration of Morgan Keegan & Co. since its purchase last April.
Reilly said the firm was “very happy with the advisors” who are staying, and that integration of the firms is going well.
“The integration has gone so well that we made a commitment to Morgan Keegan that we would keep some dual branding in business for two years,” he said. “They have asked us to drop the Morgan Keegan name in February after the integration and to operate under Raymond James.”
Reilly said the request for the name change showed that the two firms are achieving “cultural integration,” and are satisfied with the merger. “I applaud both sides for really reaching out and working together,” he declared.
Steve Hollister, spokesman for St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial, said the name will change later this month, though the exact date was not available.
Raymond James purchased Morgan Keegan & Co. from Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Financial Corp. last year for $1.2 billion in cash. Since then, the firms have been integrating systems and adjusting staff size.
The fixed-income division, based in Memphis, is currently called Raymond James | Morgan Keegan.
