UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (“RJF,” the “firm” or the “Company”) is a leading diversified financial services company providing private client group, capital markets, asset management, banking and other services to individuals, corporations and municipalities.  The firm, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in various financial services activities, including providing investment management services forto retail and institutional clients, the underwriting, distribution, trading and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products. The firm also provides corporate and retail banking services, and trust services. We operate predominately in the United States (“U.S.”) and, to a lesser extent, in Canada, the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), and other parts of Europe.

Established in 1962 and public since 1983, RJF is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol “RJF.” As a bank holding company and financial holding company, RJF is subject to supervision, examination and regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”).

Among the keys to our historical and continued success, our emphasis on putting the client first is at the core of our corporate values. We also believe in maintaining a conservative, long-term focus in our decision making. We believe that this disciplined decision-making approach translates to a strong, stable financial services firm for clients, advisors, associates, and shareholders.

REPORTABLE SEGMENTS

We currently operate through five segments. Our business segments are Private Client Group (“PCG”), Capital Markets, Asset Management and Raymond James Bank (“RJ Bank”). Our Other segment includes our private equity investments, interest income on certain corporate cash balances, and certain corporate overhead costs of RJF that are not allocated to our business segments, including the interest costs on our public debt.

The following graph depicts the relative net revenue contribution of each of our business segments for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019.2020.

We provide financial planning, investment advisory and securities transaction services through a branch office network. Financial advisors have multiple affiliation options, which we refer to as AdvisorChoice. Our two primary affiliation options for financial advisors are the employee option and the independent contractor option.

We recruit experienced financial advisors from a wide variety of competitors. As a part of their agreement to join us, we may make loans to financial advisors and to certain other key revenue producers primarily for recruiting, transitional cost assistance, and retention purposes.

Total client assets under administration (“AUA”) in our PCG segment as of September 30, 20192020 were $798.4$883.3 billion, of which $409.1$475.3 billion related to fee-based accounts (“fee-based AUA”). We had 8,0118,239 financial advisors affiliated with us as of September 30, 2019.2020.

Employee financial advisors

Employee financial advisors work in a traditional branch setting supported by local management and administrative staff. They provide services predominately to retail clients. Compensation for these financial advisors primarily includes commission payments and participation in the firm’s benefit plans.

Independent contractor financial advisors

Our financial advisors who are independent contractors are responsible for all of their direct costs and, accordingly, receive a higher payout percentage on the revenues they generate than employee financial advisors. Our independent contractor financial advisor option is designed to help our advisors build their businesses with as much or as little of our support as they determine they need. With specific approval, and on a limited basis, they are permitted to conduct certain other approved business activities, such as offering insurance products, independent registered investment advisory services, and accounting and tax services.

Products and services

Irrespective of the affiliation choice, our financial advisors offer a broad range of investment products and services, including both third-party and proprietary products, and a variety of financial planning services. Revenues from this segment are typically driven by AUA and are generally either asset-based or transactional in nature. The proportion of our brokerage revenues originating from the employee versus the independent contractor affiliation models is relatively balanced.

PCG segment net revenues for the fiscal year ended September 30, 20192020 are presented in the following graph.

* Included in “Brokerage revenues” on our Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.

We provide the following products and services through this segment:

Our Capital Markets segment conducts institutional sales, securities trading, equity research, investment banking and the syndication and management of investments that qualify for tax credits (referred to as our “tax credit funds”) business). Within our management structure, we distinguish between activities that support equity and fixed income products and services.

Capital Markets segment net revenues for the fiscal year ended September 30, 20192020 are presented in the following graph.

* Included in “Investment banking” on our Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.

We provide the following products and services through this segment.

Equity products and services

Fixed income products and services

Tax credit funds

Our Asset Management segment earns asset management and related administrative fees for providing asset management, portfolio management and related administrative services forto retail and institutional clients. This segment oversees a portion of our fee-based AUA for our PCG clients through our asset management servicesAsset Management Services division (“AMS”) and through Raymond James Trust, N.A. (“RJ Trust”). This segment also provides asset management services through Carillon Tower Advisers and affiliates (collectively, “Carillon Tower Advisers”) for certain retail accounts managed on behalf of third-party institutions, institutional accounts and proprietary mutual funds that we manage.

Management fees in this segment are generally calculated as a percentage of the value of our fee-billable financial assets under management (“AUM”) in both AMS (including the portion of fee-based AUA in PCG that is overseen by AMS) and Carillon Tower Advisers, where investment decisions are made by in-house or third-party portfolio managers or investment committees. The fee rates applied are dependent upon various factors, including the distinctive services provided and the level of assets within each client relationship. The fee rates applied in Carillon Tower Advisers may also vary based on the account objective (i.e., equity, fixed income, or balanced). Our AUM are impacted by market fluctuations and net inflows or outflows of assets, including transfers between fee-based accounts and traditional transaction-based accounts within our PCG segment. Fees are generally collected quarterly and are based on balances as of the beginning of the quarter (particularly in AMS) or the end of the quarter, or based on average daily balances.balances throughout the quarter.

Our Asset Management segment also earns administrative fees on certain fee-based assets within PCG that are not overseen by our Asset Management segment, but for which the segment provides administrative support (e.g., record-keeping).

Our AUM and our Carillon Tower Advisers AUM by objective as of September 30, 20192020 are presented in the following graphs.

RJ BANKBank

RJ Bank is a national bank that provides various types of loans, including corporate loans (commercial and industrial (“C&I”), commercial real estate (“CRE”) and CRE construction), tax-exempt loans, residential loans, securities-based loans (“SBL”) and other loans. RJ Bank is active in corporate loan syndications and participations. RJ Bank also provides Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”)-insured deposit accounts, including to clients of our broker-dealer subsidiaries. RJ Bank generates net interest revenueincome principally through the interest income earned on loans and an investment portfolio of securities, which is offset by the interest expense it pays on client deposits and on its borrowings.

As of September 30, 2019,2020, corporate and tax-exempt loans represented approximately 62%57% of RJ Bank’s loan portfolio, of which 88%87% were U.S. and Canadian syndicated loans. Residential mortgage loans are originated or purchased and held for investment or sold in the secondary market. RJ Bank’s investment portfolio is primarily comprised of agency mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) and agency collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) and is classified as available-for-sale. RJ Bank’s liabilities primarily consist of deposits that are cash balances swept from the investment accounts of PCG clients.

The following graph details the composition of RJ Bank hadBank’s total assets as of $25.52 billion at September 30, 2019, which are detailed in the following graph.2020.

Our Other segment includes our private equity investments, interest income on certain corporate cash balances, and certain corporate overhead costs of RJF, including the interest costs on our public debt. The Other segment also includes reduction in workforce expenses associated with certain position eliminations that occurred in our fiscal fourth quarter of 2020 in response to the economic environment.

Our private equity portfolio includes various direct andinvestments, as well as investments in third-party private equity investmentsfunds and various legacy private equity funds which we sponsor.

Our employees, including“associates” (which include our employee financial advisors and all of our other employees, and independent contractors (collectively “associates”)contractor financial advisors) are vital to our success in the financial services industry. As a human-capital intensive business, the long-term success of our firm depends on our people. Our goal is to ensure that we have the right talent, in the right place, at the right time. We do that through our commitment to attracting, developing and retaining our associates.

As of September 30, 2019,2020, we had approximately 14,20014,800 employees (including 3,404 employee financial advisors) and 4,7104,835 affiliated independent contractor financial advisors.

OPERATIONS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING

We have operations personnel at various locations who are responsible for processing securities transactions, custody of client securities, support of client accounts, the receipt, identification and delivery of funds and securities, and compliance with regulatory and legal requirements for most of our securities brokerage operations.

The information technology department develops and supports the integrated solutions that provide a customized platform for our businesses. These include a platform for financial advisors designed to allow them to spend more time with their clients and enhance and grow their businesses; systems that support institutional and retail sales and trading activity throughfrom initiation to settlement and custody; and thorough security protocols to protect firm and client information.

In the area of information security, we have developed and implemented a framework of principles, policies and technology to protect both our own information and that of our clients.  We apply numerous safeguards to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of both client and firm information.

Our business continuity program has been developed to provide reasonable assurance that we will continue to operate in the event of disruptions at our critical facilities.facilities or other business disruptions. We have developed operational plans for such disruptions, and we have a full time staff devoted significant resources to maintaining those plans. Our business continuity plan continues to be enhanced and tested to allow for continuous operations in the event of weather-related or other interruptions at our corporate headquarters in Florida, one of our operations processing or data center sites (located in Florida, Colorado, Tennessee or Michigan), and our branch and office locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.

COMPETITION

The financial services industry is intensely competitive. We compete with many other financial services firms, including a number of larger securities firms, most of which are affiliated with major financial services companies, insurance companies, banking institutions and other organizations. We also compete with companies that offer web-based financial services and discount brokerage services to individual clients, usually with lower levels of service, and, more recently, financial technology (“fintech”) firms. We compete principally on the basis of the quality of our associates, services, product selection, performance records, location and reputation in local markets.

Our ability to compete effectively is substantially dependent on our continuing ability to develop or attract, retain and motivate qualified financial advisors, investment bankers, trading professionals, portfolio managers and other revenue-producing or specialized personnel.

REGULATION

The following discussion summarizes the principal elements of the regulatory and supervisory framework applicable to RJFus as a participant in the financial services industry and, in particular, the banking and securities sectors. The framework includes extensive regulation under U.S. federal and state laws, as well as the applicable laws of the jurisdictions outside the U.S. in which RJF does business, andwe do business. This framework is intended to protect our clients, the integrity of the financial markets, our depositors and the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund and is not intended to protect our creditors or shareholders. These rules and regulations limit our ability to engage in certain activities, as well as our ability to fund RJF from our regulated subsidiaries, which include RJ Bank, RJ Trust and our broker-dealer subsidiaries. To the extent that the following information describes statutory and regulatory provisions, it is qualified in its entirety by reference to

We continue to experience a period of notable changechanges in financial regulation and supervision. We continue to monitor the likelihood of changes in taxation and regulations due to changes in the political environment. Based upon the outcome of the most recent U.S. federal elections, the likelihood of changes in both corporate and individual taxation, as well as regulations, has likely increased. These changes could have a significant impact on how we conduct our business. Many regulatory or supervisory policies remain in a statebusiness, financial condition, results of flux operations

and may be subject to amendmentcash flows in the near future. As a result,future; however, we cannot specificallypredict the exact changes or quantify the impact that such regulatory or supervisory requirements will have on our business and operationstheir potential impacts. (see Item“Item 1A “Risk- Risk Factors” withinof this reportForm 10-K for further discussion of the potential future impact on our operations).

RJF is a bank holding company (“BHC”) under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”), that has made an election to be a financial holding company (“FHC”) and is subject to regulation, oversight and consolidated supervision, including periodic examination, by the Fed. Under the system of “functional regulation” established under the BHC Act, the primary regulators of our U.S. non-bank subsidiaries directly regulate the activities of those subsidiaries, with the Fed exercising a supervisory role. Such “functionally regulated” subsidiaries include our broker-dealers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), such as Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (“RJ&A”) and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (“RJFS”), investment advisors registered with the SEC with respect to their investment advisory activities, and our depository institution and trust company chartered and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”).

RJ Bank is a national bank and insured depository institution regulated, supervised and examined by the OCC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). Our trust company non-depository subsidiary, RJ Trust, is also regulated, supervised and examined by the OCC. The Fed and the FDIC also regulate and may examine RJ Bank and, with respect to the Fed, RJ Trust.

Collectively, the rules and regulations of the Fed, the OCC, the FDIC and the CFPB cover all aspects of the banking business, including, for example, lending practices, the receipt of deposits, capital structure, transactions with affiliates, conduct and qualifications of personnel and, as discussed further in the following sections, capital requirements. This regulatory, supervisory and oversight framework is subject to significant changes that can affect the operating costs and permissible businesses of RJF, RJ Bank, RJ Trust and all of our other subsidiaries. As a part of their supervisory functions, the Fed, the OCC, the FDIC, and the CFPB also have the power to bring enforcement actions for violations of law and, in the case of the Fed, the OCC and the FDIC, for unsafe or unsound practices.

Both RJF and RJ Bank are subject to minimum capital requirements and overall capital adequacy standards. The OCC, the Fed and the FDIC published final U.S. rules implementing the Basel III capital framework developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) and other capital provisions, and updated the prompt corrective action framework to reflect the new regulatory capital minimums (the “U.S. Basel III Rules”). The U.S. Basel III Rules: (i) increased the quantity and quality of regulatory capital; (ii) established a capital conservation buffer; and (iii) made changes to the calculation of risk-weighted assets. The U.S. Basel III Rules became effective for RJF on January 1, 2015, subject to applicable phase-in periods. The rules governing the capital conservation buffer became effective for both RJF and RJ Bank on January 1, 2016. The capital requirements could restrict our ability to grow, including during favorable market conditions, and to return capital to shareholders, or require us to raise additional capital. As a result, our business, results of operations, financial condition and future prospects could be adversely affected. See Item“Item 1A “Risk- Risk Factors” withinof this reportForm 10-K for more information.

Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can trigger discretionary, and in certain cases, mandatory actions by regulators that could have a direct material effect on the financial results of RJF and RJ Bank. Under capital adequacy guidelines, RJF and RJ Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of assets, liabilities and certain off-balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The capital amounts and classification for RJF and RJ Bank are also subject to the qualitative judgments of U.S. regulators based on components of capital, risk-weightings of assets, off-balance sheet transactions and other factors. Quantitative measures established by federal banking regulations to ensure capital adequacy require that RJF and RJ Bank maintain minimum amounts and ratios of: (i) Common Equity Tier 1 (or “CET1”), Tier 1 and Total capital to risk-weighted assets; (ii) Tier 1 capital to average total consolidated assets; and (iii) capital conservation buffers.

See Note 22 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for further information.

The Fed requires that BHCs, such as RJF, serve as a source of financial strength for any of its subsidiary depository institutions. The term “source of financial strength” is defined as the ability of a company to provide financial assistance to its insured depository institution subsidiaries in the event of financial distress at such subsidiaries. Under this requirement, RJF could be required to provide financial assistance to RJ Bank in the future should it experience financial distress.

Transactions between (i) RJ Bank, RJ Trust or their subsidiaries on the one hand and (ii) RJF or its other subsidiaries or affiliates on the other hand are subject to compliance with Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W issued by the Fed. These laws and regulations generally limit the types and amounts of transactions (including credit extensions from (i) RJ Bank, RJ Trust or their subsidiaries to (ii) RJF or its other subsidiaries or affiliates) that may take place and generally require those transactions to be on market terms. These laws and regulations generally do not apply to transactions between RJ Bank or RJ Trust and their subsidiaries.

The Volcker Rule, a provision of the Dodd-Frank Act, generally prohibits certain transactions and imposes a market terms requirement on certain other transactions between (i) RJF or its other subsidiaries or affiliates on the one hand and (ii) covered funds for which RJF or its subsidiaries or affiliates serve as the investment manager, investment advisor, commodity trading advisor or sponsor, or other covered funds organized and offered by RJF or its other subsidiaries or affiliates on the other hand. See “The Volcker Rule” in the following section.

Since RJ Bank provides deposits covered by FDIC insurance, generally up to $250,000 per account ownership type, RJ Bank is subject to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. For banks with greater than $10 billion in assets, which includes RJ Bank, the FDIC’s current assessment rate calculation relies on a scorecard designed to measure financial performance and ability to withstand stress, in addition to measuring the FDIC’s exposure should the bank fail.

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”) requires the U.S. federal bank regulatory agencies to take “prompt corrective action” with respect to depository institutions that do not meet specified capital requirements. FDICIA establishes five capital categories for FDIC-insured banks, such as RJ Bank: well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized.

An institution may be downgraded to, or deemed to be in, a capital category that is lower than isthe category indicated by its capital ratios if itthe institution is determined to be in an unsafe or unsound condition or if it receives an unsatisfactory examination rating with respect to certain matters. FDICIA imposes progressively more restrictive constraints on operations, management and capital distributions, as the capital category

The prompt corrective action regulations do not apply to BHCs, such as RJF. However, the Fed is authorized to take appropriate action at the BHC level, based upon the undercapitalized status of the BHC’s depository institution subsidiaries. In certain instances related to an undercapitalized depository institution subsidiary, the BHC would be required to guarantee the performance of the undercapitalized subsidiary’s capital restoration plan and might be liable for civil money damages for failure to fulfill its commitments on that guarantee. Furthermore, in the event of the bankruptcy of the BHC, this guarantee would take priority over the BHC’s general unsecured creditors. As of September 30, 2020, RJ Bank was categorized as well-capitalized.

RJF is subject to the Volcker Rule, which generally prohibits BHCs and their subsidiaries and affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading or acquiring or retaining an ownership interest, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with hedge funds and private equity funds, subject to certain exceptions.

We have proprietary private equity investments some of whichthat meet the definition of covered funds under the Volcker Rule. The conformance period for compliance with the rule with respect to investments in covered funds was July 2017; however, banking entities were able to apply for an extension to provide up to an additional five years to conform investments in certain illiquid funds. The majority of our covered fund investments meet the criteria to be considered an illiquid fund under the Volcker Rule and we received approval from the Fed to continue to hold such investments until July 2022. The extension of the conformance deadline provides us with additional time to attempt to realize the value of these investments in due course and to execute appropriate strategies to comply with the Volcker Rule at such time. However, our current focus is on the divestiture of our existing covered fund portfolio.

The Fed, OCC, FDIC, SEC, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) finalized amendments to the Volcker Rule in 2019, which relate primarily to the Volcker Rule’s proprietary trading and compliance program requirements. The amendments do not change the Volcker Rule’s general prohibitions, but they offer certain clarifications and a simplified approach to compliance. While

Our compensation practices are subject to oversight by the Fed. Compensation regulation in the financial industry continues to develop, and we expect these regulations to change over a number of years. The U.S. federal bank regulatory agencies have provided guidance designed to ensure incentive compensation policies do not encourage imprudent risk-taking and are consistent with safety and soundness. The Dodd-Frank Act requires the U.S. financial regulators to adopt rules on incentive-based payment arrangements. The U.S. financial regulators proposed revised rules in 2016, which have not yet been finalized.

FHCs, such as RJF, generally can engage in a broader range of financial and related activities than are otherwise permissible for BHCs as long as they continue to meet the eligibility requirements for FHCs. The broader range of permissible activities for FHCs includes underwriting, dealing and making markets in securities and making investments in non-FHCs or merchant banking activities.

The Fed, however, has the authority to limit an FHC’s ability to conduct activities that would otherwise be permissible, and will likely do so if the FHC does not satisfactorily meet certain requirements of the Fed. For example, if an FHC or any of its U.S. depository institution subsidiaries ceases to maintain its status as “well-capitalized” or “well-managed,” the Fed may impose corrective capital and/or managerial requirements, as well as additional limitations or conditions. If the deficiencies persist, the FHC may be required to divest its U.S. depository institution subsidiaries or to cease engaging in activities other than the business of banking and certain closely related activities.

In addition, we are required to obtain prior Fed approval before engaging in certain banking and other financial activities both within and outside the U.S.

The SEC is the federal agency charged with administration of the federal securities laws in the U.S. Our U.S. broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to SEC regulations relating to their business operations, including sales and trading practices, public offerings, publication of research reports, use and safekeeping of client funds and securities, capital structure, record-keeping, privacy requirements, and the conduct of directors, officers and employees. Financial services firms are also subject to regulation by state securities commissions in those states in which they conduct business. Our primary U.S. broker-dealers, RJ&A and RJFS, are currently registered as broker-dealers in all 50 states.

Financial services firms are also subject to regulation by various foreign governments, securities exchanges, central banks and regulatory bodies, particularly in those countries where they have established offices. Outside of the U.S., we have additional offices primarily in Canada and Europe and are subject to regulations in those areas. Much of the regulation of broker-dealers in the U.S. and Canada, however, has been delegated to self-regulatory organizations (“SROs”) (e.g., the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) and securities exchanges). These SROs adopt and amend rules for regulating the industry, subject to the approval of government agencies. These SROs also conduct periodic examinations of member broker-dealers.

The SEC, SROs and state securities regulators may conduct administrative proceedings that can result in censure, fine, suspension or expulsion of a broker-dealer, its officers, employees or other associated persons. Such administrative proceedings, whether or not resulting in adverse findings, can require substantial expenditures and may adversely impact the reputation of a broker-dealer.

Our U.S. broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to the Securities Investor Protection Act (“SIPA”) and are required by federal law to be members of the Securities Investors Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). The SIPC was established under SIPA, and oversees the liquidation of broker-dealers during liquidation or financial distress. The SIPC fund provides protection for cash and securities held in client accounts up to $500,000 per client, with a limitation of $250,000 on claims for cash balances.

Broker-dealers are required to maintain the minimum net capital deemed necessary to meet their continuing commitments to customers and others, and are required to keep their assets in relatively liquid form. These rules also limit the ability of broker-dealers to transfer capital to parent companies and other affiliates. The SEC has adopted amendmentsOur broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to itscertain of the SEC’s financial stability rules, many of which are applicable to our broker-dealer subsidiaries, including changes to the: (i) net capital rule; (ii) customer protection rule; (iii) record-keeping rules; and (iv) notification rules.

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC was charged with considering whether broker-dealers should be subject to a standard of care similar to the fiduciary standard applicable to registered investment advisors. In June 2019, the SEC adopted a package of rulemakingsrule-makings and interpretations related to the provision of advice by broker-dealers and investment advisers, including Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS. Among other things, Regulation Best Interest requires a broker-dealer to act in the best interest of a retail customer when making a recommendation to that customer of any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities. Form CRS requires that broker-dealers and investment advisers provide retail investors with a brief summary document containing simple, easy-to-understand information about the nature of the relationship between the parties. Since June 30, 2020, we have been required to comply with Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS have a compliance date of June 30, 2020, and we anticipate that implementationCRS. Implementation of the regulations will requirerequired us to review and modify our policies and procedures, as well as the associated supervisory and compliance controls, which may leadsatisfy additional disclosure obligations, and provide related education and training to additional costs.financial advisors.

In addition to the SEC,Additionally, various states have proposed, or are considering adoptingadopted, laws and regulations seeking to impose new standards of conduct on broker-dealers that as written,may differ from the SEC’s new regulations, and maywhich will lead to additional implementation costs if adopted.costs. The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has also reinstated the historical “five-part test” for determining who is an investment advice “fiduciary” when dealing with certain retirement plans and accounts and proposed a new exemption to allow investment advice fiduciaries to receive transaction-based compensation and engage in certain principal trades. We are studying and evaluating the proposal. The total impact of the DOL change on our business will not be fully known until the proposal is finalized and could lead to additional costs.

Our investment advisory operations, including the mutual funds that we sponsor, are also subject to extensive regulation in the U.S. The majority of our asset managers are registered as investment advisers with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 as amended (the “Investment Advisers Act”), and are also required to make notice filings in certain states. Virtually all aspects of our

The U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (“PATRIOT Act”), and the Customer Due Diligence Rule, contains anti-money laundering and financial transparency laws and mandates the implementation of various regulations applicable to all financial institutions, including standards for verifying client identification at account opening, and obligations to monitor client transactions and report suspicious activities. Through these and other provisions, the BSA and the PATRIOT Act seek to promote the identification of parties that may be involved in terrorism, money laundering or other suspicious activities. Anti-money laundering laws outside the U.S. contain some similar provisions.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control administers economic and trade sanctions programs and enforces sanctions regulations with which all U.S. persons must comply. The European Union (“E.U.”) as well as various countries have also adopted economic sanctions programs targeted at countries, entities and individuals that are involved in terrorism, hostilities, embezzlement or human rights violations.

In addition, various countries have adopted laws and regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act, related to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. The scope of the types of payments or other benefits covered by these laws is very broad as well asand is subject to significant uncertainties that may be clarified only in the context of further regulatory guidance or enforcement proceedings.

RJF and its affiliates have been required to implement and continuously maintain internal policies, procedures, and controls to meet the compliance obligations imposed by such U.S. and non-U.S. laws and regulations concerning anti-money laundering, economic sanctions, and anti-bribery and corruption. Failure to meet the requirements of these regulations can result in supervisory action, including fines.

Privacy and data protection

U.S. federal law establishes minimum federal standards for financial privacy by, among other provisions, requiring financial institutions to adopt and disclose privacy policies with respect to consumer information and setting forth certain limitations on disclosure to third parties of consumer information. U.S. state lawlaws and regulations adopted under U.S. federal law impose obligations on RJF and its subsidiaries for protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of client information, and

require notice of data breaches to certain U.S. regulators and to clients. The SEC’s Regulation S-ID mandates the development and implementation of a written Identity Theft Prevention Program that is designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft. The California Consumer Privacy Act, which became effective on January 1, 2020, imposes privacy compliance obligations with regard to the personal information of California residents, including requiring companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers, and provides for a number of new rights for California residents. Similarly, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) imposes additional requirements for companies that collect or store personal data of European UnionE.U. residents. GDPR expands the scope of the E.U. data protection law to all foreign companies processing personal data of E.U. residents, imposes a strict data protection compliance regime, and includes new rights for E.U. residents. Similarly, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which was enacted in June 2018 and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2020, will impose privacy compliance obligations with regard to the personal information of California residents and require companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers and provide for a number of new rights for California residents. We have adopted and disseminated privacy policies and communicated required information relating to financial privacy and data security, in accordance with applicable law.laws. We continue to monitor regulations related to data privacy and protection on both a domestic and international level to assess requirements and impacts on our global business operations,operations.

Other non-U.S. regulation

Raymond James Ltd. (“RJ Ltd.”) is currently registered as an investment dealer in all provinces and territories in Canada. The financial services industry in Canada is subject to comprehensive regulation under both federal and provincial laws. Securities commissions have been established in all provinces and territorial jurisdictions, which are charged with the administration of securities laws. Investment dealers in Canada are also subject to regulation by SROs, includingIIROC, a SRO under the Montreal Exchange andoversight of the securities commissions that make up the Canadian Securities Administrators. IIROC which areis responsible for the enforcement of, and conformity with, securities legislation for their members and havehas been granted the powers to prescribe their own rules of conduct and financial requirements of members.members, including RJ Ltd. is regulated by each of the securities commissions in the jurisdictions of registration, as well as by the SROs including IIROC. IIROC also requires that RJ Ltd. be a member of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund, whose primary role is investor protection. This fund provides protection for securities and cash held in client accounts up to 1 million Canadian dollars (“CAD”) per client, with separateadditional coverage of CAD 1 million for certain types of accounts. See Note 22 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for further information on SEC, FINRA and IIROC regulations pertaining to broker-dealer regulatory minimum net capital requirements.

Certain of our subsidiaries are registered in, and operate from, the U.K. which has a highly developed and comprehensive regulatory regime. Certain of these subsidiaries operate in the retail sector, providing investment and financial planning services to high-net-worth individuals, while others provide brokerage and investment banking services to institutional clients. These subsidiaries are authorized and regulated by the U.K. conduct regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), and have permission to carry out business in other E.U. countries as part of treaty arrangements.arrangements; however, these permissions may be negatively impacted by the terms and conditions of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the E.U. (“Brexit”).

CertainAs of September 30, 2020, we have entered into an agreement to sell our interests in certain of our other subsidiaries which are incorporated and operate in France providingand that provide investment and asset management services to high-net-worth individuals and brokerage services to institutional clients. These subsidiaries are both authorized and regulated by the French Regulatory Authority the L’Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de resolution and Autorité des Marchés Financiers and have permission to carry out business in other E.U. countries as part of treaty arrangements. We expect the sale to be completed in the first half of fiscal 2021.

In Europe, the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation and a revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (together, “MiFID II”), generally took effect on January 3, 2018, and introduced comprehensive, new trading and market infrastructure reforms in the E.U., including new trading venues, enhancements to pre- and post-trading transparency, and additional investor protection requirements, among others. We have made changes to our European operations,These reforms also changed the way investment managers can pay for the receipt of investment research and mandated unbundling between execution and other major services, including systems and controls, in order to be in compliance with MiFID II.research, for broker-dealers.

Executive officers of the registrant (which includes officers of certain significant subsidiaries) are as follows:

Except where otherwise indicated, the executive officer has held his or her current position for more than five years.

Certain statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may constitute “forward-looking statements” under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include information concerning future strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated savings, financial results (including expenses, earnings, liquidity, cash flow and capital expenditures), industry or market conditions, demand for and pricing of our products, acquisitions and divestitures, anticipated results of litigation, our effective tax rate, regulatory developments, effects of accounting pronouncements, and general economic conditions.  In addition, words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “forecasts,” and future or conditional verbs such

Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described in the following sections, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and the trading price of our common stock. The list of risk factors provided in the following sections is not exhaustive; there may be other factors not discussed in the following sections or of this Form 10-K that adversely impact our results of operations, harm our reputation or inhibit our ability to generate new business prospects. The following sections should be read in conjunction with “Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes in “Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In particular, see “Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and capital resources” for additional information on liquidity and how we manage our liquidity risk and “Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Risk management” for additional information on our exposure and how we monitor and manage our market, credit, operational, compliance and certain other risks.

Damage to our reputation could damage our businesses.

Maintaining our reputation is critical to attracting and maintaining clients, investors, financial advisors and other associates. If we fail to address, or appear to fail to address, issues that may give rise to reputational risk, we could significantly harm our business prospects. These issues may include, but are not limited to, any of the risks discussed in this Item 1A, including appropriately dealing with potential conflicts of interest, legal and regulatory requirements, ethical issues, money laundering, cybersecurity and privacy, record-keeping, and sales and trading practices.practices, and associate misconduct. In addition, the failure to sell securities we have underwritten at anticipated price levels and the proper identification of the legal, credit, liquidity and market risks inherent in ourthe products and services we offer could also give rise to reputational risk. Failure to maintain appropriate service and quality standards or a failure or perceived failure to treat clients fairly can result in client dissatisfaction, litigation and heightened regulatory scrutiny, all of which can lead to lost revenue, higher operating costs and reputational harm. Negative publicity about us, whether or not true, may also harm our reputation. Further, failures at other large financial institutions or other market participants, regardless of whether they relate to our activities, could lead to a general loss of customer confidence in financial institutions that could negatively affect us, including harming the market perception of the financial system in general.

We are engaged in various financial services businesses. As such, we are affected by domestic and international macroeconomic and political conditions, includingas well as economic output levels, interest and inflation rates, employment levels, prices of commodities, consumer confidence levels, international trade policy, and fiscal and monetary policy. For example, Fed policies determine, in large part, the cost of funds for lending and investing and the return earned on those loans and investments. The market impact from such policies also can decrease materially the value of certain of our financial assets, most notably debt securities.securities, as well as our cash flows, such as those associated with client cash balances. Changes in Fed policies are beyond our control and, consequently, the impact of these changes on our activities and results of our operations are difficult to predict. In addition, our results of operations may be impacted by changes resulting from different political philosophies governing individual and corporate taxation, as well as regulation, which may result from the outcome of the recent federal elections in the U.S. Changes in tax law and regulation, or any market uncertainty caused by a change in the political environment, may negatively affect our business. Macroeconomic conditions may also may directly and indirectly impact a number of factors in the global financial markets that may be detrimental to our operating results, including trading levels, investing, and origination activity in the securities markets, securityfinancial instrument valuations, the absolute and relative level and volatility of interest and currency rates, real estate values, the actual and perceived quality of issuers and borrowers, and the supply of and demand for loans and deposits.

WhileIn recent years, we have experienced an operating environment that has beenwas favorable for many of our businesses, characterized by rising equity markets and higher levels of interest rates. However, the recent significant reduction by the Fed of its benchmark short-term interest rate, including to ameliorate the macroeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has had a significant negative impact on our results, as we have certain assets and liabilities, primarily held in recent years,our PCG, RJ Bank and Other segments, which are sensitive to changes in interest rates. Fees we earn from third-party banks on client cash balances swept to such banks as part of the RJBDP are also sensitive to changes in interest rates. These market interest rate declines will continue to negatively impact our results and cash flows in future quarters.

U.S. markets may also be impacted by political and civil unrest occurring in other parts of the world. Our businesses and revenues derived from non-U.S. operations may also be subject to risk of loss from currency fluctuations, social or political instability, less established regulatory regimes, changes in governmental or central bank policies, downgrades in the credit ratings of sovereign countries, expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and unfavorable legislative, economic and

political developments. Concerns about the E.U., including the U.K.’s notice to the European Council of its decision to exit the E.U. (“Brexit”)Brexit and the stability of the E.U.’s sovereign debt have causedcould cause uncertainty and disruption forin financial markets globally. Continued uncertainties loom over the future of the U.K.’s relationship with the E.U., including timing of withdrawal, the nature of any transition, implementation or successor arrangements, and future trading arrangements between the U.K. and the E.U. In order to prepare for, following the expiration of the transition period on December 31, 2020. During the transition period of Brexit, we are taking steps to make certain changes to our European operations in an effort to ensure that, where possible, we can continue to provide cross-border services in E.U. member states without the need for separate regulatory authorizations in each member state. There is also continued uncertainty regarding the outcome of the E.U.’s financial support programs. It is possible that other E.U. member states may experience financial troubles in the future, or may

We may be negatively impacted by budget pressures affecting U.S. state and local governments, as well as negative trends in the housing and labor markets.markets, including those resulting directly or indirectly from the COVID-19 pandemic. Investor concerns regarding these trends could potentially reduce the number and size of transactions in which we participate and, in turn, reduce our fixed income investment bankingdebt underwriting revenues. In addition, such factors could potentially have an adverse effect on the value of the municipal securities we hold in our trading securities portfolio.inventory.

RJ Bank is affected primarily by economic conditions in North America. Market conditions in the U.S. and Canada can be assessed through the following metrics: the level and volatility of interest rates; unemployment and under-employment rates; real estate prices; consumer confidence levels and changes in consumer spending; and the number of personal bankruptcies, among others. Deterioration of market conditions, cansuch as those we have experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have and could continue to diminish loan demand, which may result in sales of loans at unattractive prices in order to reduce risk in our loan portfolio, lead to an increase in mortgage and other loan delinquencies, affect loan repayment performance, and result in higher reservesloan loss provisions and net charge-offs, which can adversely affect our earnings.

Our inability to maintain adequate liquidity or to easily access credit and capital markets could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition. If liquidity from our brokerage or banking operations is inadequate or unavailable, we may be required to scale back or curtail our operations, such as limiting our recruiting of additional financial advisors, limiting lending, selling assets at unfavorable prices, and cutting or eliminating dividend payments. Our liquidity could be negatively affected by: the inability of our subsidiaries to generate cash in the form of dividends from earnings; liquidity or capital requirements applicable to our subsidiaries that may prevent us from upstreamingdistributing cash to the parent company; limited or no accessibility to credit markets for secured and unsecured borrowings by our subsidiaries; diminished access to the capital markets for RJF; and other commitments or restrictions on capital as a result of adverse legal settlements, judgments, or regulatory sanctions. Furthermore, as a bank holding company, we may become subject to prohibitions or limitations on our ability to pay dividends and/or repurchase our stock. Certain of our regulators have the authority, and under certain circumstances, the duty, to prohibit or to limit dividend payments by regulated subsidiaries to their parent.parent company.

The availability of financing, including access to the credit and capital markets, depends on various factors, such as conditions in the debt and equity markets, the general availability of credit, the volume of securities trading activity, the overall availability of credit to the financial services sector, and our credit ratings. Our cost of capital and the availability of funding may be adversely affected by illiquid credit markets and wider credit spreads. Additionally, lenders may from time to time curtail, or even cease to provide, funding to borrowers as a result of future concerns over the strength of specific counterparties, as well as the stability of markets generally. See Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and capital resources” in this report for additional information on liquidity and how we manage our liquidity risk.

We borrow securities from, and lend securities to, other broker-dealers and may also enter into agreements to repurchase and/or resell securities as part of investing and financing activities. A sharp change in the security market values utilized in these transactions may result in losses if counterparties to these transactions fail to honor their commitments.

associated with these transactions by establishing and monitoring credit limits, as well as by evaluating collateral and transaction levels on a recurring basis. Significant deterioration in the credit quality of one of our counterparties could lead to widespread concerns about the credit quality of other counterparties in the same industry, thereby exacerbating our credit risk exposure.

We deposit our cash in depository institutions as a means of maintaining the liquidity necessary to meet our operating needs, and we also facilitate the deposit of cash awaiting investment in depository institutions on behalf of our clients. A failure of a depository institution to return these deposits could severely impact our operating liquidity, result in significant reputational damage, and adversely impact our financial performance.

We also incur credit risk by lending to businesses and individuals, including through offering C&I loans, commercial and residential mortgage loans, tax-exempt loans, home equity lines of credit, SBL and other loans generally collateralized by securities.loans. We also incur credit risk through our investments. Our credit risk and credit losses can increase if our loans or investments are concentrated among borrowers or issuers engaged in the same or similar activities, industries, or geographies, or to borrowers or issuers who as a group may be uniquely or disproportionately affected by economic or market conditions.conditions, such as those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the airline, restaurant, gaming, entertainment/leisure and energy sectors. The deterioration of an individually large exposure, for example due to natural disasters, health emergencies or pandemics, acts of terrorism, severe weather events or other adverse economic events, could lead to additional loan loss provisions and/or charges-offs, or credit impairment of our investments, and subsequently have a material impact on our net income and regulatory capital.

Declines in the real estate market or sustained economic downturns may cause us to write down the value of some of the loans in RJ Bank’s portfolio, sell loans at unattractive prices, foreclose on certain real estate properties or write down the value of some of our securities. Credit quality generally may also be affected by adverse changes in the financial performance or condition of our debtors or deterioration in the strength of the U.S. economy.

We are, directly and indirectly, affected by changes in market conditions. Market risk generally represents the risk that values of assets and liabilities or revenues will be adversely affected by changes in market conditions. For example, interest rate changes could adversely affect our net interest spread, the difference between the yield we earn on our interest-earning assets and the interest rate we pay for deposits and other sources of funding, which in turn impacts our net interest income and earnings. Interest rate changes could affect the interest earned on assets differently than interest paid on liabilities. Moreover, while there is no indication currently that the Fed plans to reduce its targeted Fed funds rate to a negative rate, if such a policy were to be adopted the cost to hold both firm and client deposits would have an adverse impact on our profitability.

In our brokerage operations, a rising interest rate environment generally results in our earning a larger net interest spread and an increase in servicing fees received on cash swept to third-party banks as part of the RJBDP, our multi-bank deposit sweep program. Conversely, in those operations, a falling interest rate environment generally results in our earning a smaller net interest spread.spread and lower RJBDP fees from third-party banks. If we are unable to effectively manage our interest rate risk, changes in interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our profitability.

Market risk is inherent in the financial instruments associated with our operations and activities, including loans, deposits, securities, short-term borrowings, long-term debt, trading account assets and liabilities, derivatives and private equity investments. Market conditions that change from time to time, thereby exposing us to market risk, include fluctuations in interest rates, equity prices, foreign exchange rates, and price deterioration or changes in value due to changes in market perception or actual credit quality of an issuer.

Our private equity investments are carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses reflected in earnings. The value of our private equity portfolios can fluctuate and earnings from our investments can be volatile and difficult to predict. When, and if, we recognize gains can depend on a number of factors, including general economic conditions, the prospects of the companies in which we invest, if these companies go public and the size of our position relative to the public float, and whether we are subject to any resale restrictions.

We rely heavily on bank deposits to fund RJ Bank’s asset growth. The majority of RJ Bank’s deposits are primarily driven by the RJBDP, aour multi-bank sweep program in which PCG clients’ cash deposits in their brokerage accounts are swept into FDIC-insuranceFDIC-insured, interest-bearing deposit accounts at RJ Bank and various third-party banks. The RJBDP is a source of relatively low-cost, stable deposits.deposits for RJ Bank and we rely heavily on the RJBDP to fund RJ Bank’s asset growth. A significant

A large portion of our revenues are derived from fees generated from the distribution of financial products, such as mutual funds and variable annuities. Changes in the structure or amount of the fees paid by the sponsors of these products could directly affect our revenues, business and financial condition. In addition, if these products experience losses or increased investor redemptions, we may receive lower fee revenue from the investment management and distribution services we provide on behalf of the mutual fund and annuity companies.

The asset management fees we are paid are dependent upon the value of client assets in fee-based accounts in our PCG segment, as well as AUM in our Asset Management segment. The value of our fee-based assets and AUM is impacted by market fluctuations and inflows or outflows of assets. As a result of a shift by our PCG clients toincreasingly show a preference for fee-based accounts fromover traditional transaction-based accounts, a larger portion of our client assets are more directly impacted by market movements. Therefore, in periods of declining market values, the values of fee-based accounts and AUM may resultantly decline, which would negatively impact our revenues. In addition, below-market investment performance by our funds, portfolio managers or financial advisors could result in reputational damage that might cause outflows or make it more difficult to attract new investors into our asset management products and thus, further impact our business and financial condition.

Our asset management fees may also decline over time due to factors such as increased competition and the renegotiation of contracts. In addition, the market environment in recent years has resulted in a shift to passive investment products, which generate lower fees than actively managed products. A continued trend toward passive investments or changes in market values or in the fee structure of asset management accounts would negatively affect our revenues, business and financial condition.

We may incur losses and be subject to reputational harm to the extent that, for any reason, we are unable to sell securities we have underwritten at the anticipated price levels. As an underwriter, we also are subject to heightened standards regarding liability for material misstatements or omissions in prospectuses and other offering documents relating to offerings in which we are involved. From time to time as part of our underwriting processes, we may carry significant positions in securities of a single issuer or issuers engaged in a specific industry. Sudden changes in the value of these positions, despite anyour risk mitigation policies, could impact our financial results.

As a market maker, we may own positions in specific securities, and these undiversified holdings concentrate the risk of market fluctuations and may result in greater losses than would be the case if our holdings were more diversified. Despite risk mitigation policies, we may incur losses as a result of positions we hold in connection with our market-makingtrading activities.

We have made and, to the limited extent permitted by applicable regulations, may continue to make principal investments in private equity funds and other illiquid investments; however, our current focus is on the divestiture of our existing portfolio.investments. We may be unable to realize our investment objectives if we cannot sell or otherwise dispose of our interests at attractive prices or complete a desirable exit strategy. In particular, these risks could arise from changes in the financial condition or prospects of the portfolio companies in which investments are made, changes in economic conditions or changes in laws, regulations, fiscal policies or political conditions. It could take a substantial period of

time to identify attractive investment opportunities and then to realize the cash value of such investments. In addition, even if a private equity investment proves to be profitable, it may be several years or longer before any profits can be realized in cash.

Our operations rely heavily on the secure processing, storage and transmission of sensitive and confidential financial, personal and other information in our computer systems and networks. There have been several highly publicized cases involving financial services companies reporting the unauthorized disclosure of client or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber-attacks involving the theft, dissemination and destruction of corporate information or other assets, in some cases as a result of failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties. Like other financial services firms, we experience malicious cyber activity directed at our computer systems, software, networks and its users on a daily basis. This malicious activity

Cyber-attacks can originate from a variety of sources, including third parties affiliated with foreign governments, organized crime or terrorist organizations. Third parties may also attempt to place individuals within our firm or induce employees, clients or other users of our systems to disclose sensitive information or provide access to our data, and these types of risks may be difficult to detect or prevent. Although cybersecurity incidents among financial services firms are on the rise, we have not experienced any material losses relating to cyber-attacks or other information security breaches. However, the techniques used in these attacks are increasingly sophisticated, change frequently and are often not recognized until launched. Although we seek to maintain a robust suite of authentication and layered information security controls, including our cyber threat analytics, data encryption and tokenization technologies, anti-malware defenses and vulnerability management program,programs, any one or combination of these controls could fail to detect, mitigate or remediate these risks in a timely manner. Despite our implementation of protective measures and endeavoring to modify them as circumstances warrant, our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to human error, equipment failure, natural disasters, power loss, spam attacks, unauthorized access, distributed denial of service attacks, computer viruses and other malicious code, and other events that could result in significant liability and damage to our reputation, and have an ongoing impact on the security and stability of our operations.

We also rely on numerous third-party service providers to conduct other aspects of our business operations, and we face similar risks relating to them. While we regularly conduct security assessments on these third-party vendors, we cannot be certain that their information security protocols are sufficient to withstand a cyber-attack or other security breach. In addition, in order to access our products and services, our customers may use computers and other devices that are beyond our security control systems.

Notwithstanding the precautions we take, if a cyber-attack or other information security breach were to occur, this could jeopardize the information we confidentially maintain, or otherwise cause interruptions in our operations or those of our clients and counterparties, exposing us to liability. As attempted attacks continue to evolve in scope and sophistication, we may be required to expend substantial additional resources to modify or enhance our protective measures, to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities or other exposures or to communicate about cyber-attacks to our customers. Though we have insurance against some cyber-risks and attacks, we may be subject to litigation and financial losses that exceed our policy limits or are not covered under any of our current insurance policies. A technological breakdown could also interfere with our ability to comply with financial reporting and other regulatory requirements, exposing us to potential disciplinary action by regulators. Additionally, the SEC issued guidance in February 2018 stating that, as a public company, we are expected to have controls and procedures that relate to cybersecurity disclosure, and are required to disclose information relating to certain cyber-attacks or other information security breaches in disclosures required to be made under the federal securities laws. Further, successful cyber-attacks at other large financial institutions or other market participants, whether or not we are affected, could lead to a general loss of customer confidence in financial institutions that could negatively affect us, including harming the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures or the financial system in general, which could result in reduced use of our financial products and services.

Further, in light of the high volume of transactions we process, the large number of our clients, partners and counterparties, and the increasing sophistication of malicious actors, and our remote work environment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a cyber-attack could occur and persist for an extended period of time without detection. We expect that any investigation of a cyber-attack would take substantial amounts of time, and that there may be extensive delays before we obtain full and reliable

information. During such time we would not necessarily know the extent of the harm or how best to remediate it, and certain errors or actions could be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and remediated, all of which would further increase the costs and consequences of such an attack.

We may also be subject to liability under various data protection laws. In providing services to clients, we manage, utilize and store sensitive or confidential client or employee data, including personal data. As a result, we are subject to numerous laws and regulations designed to protect this information, such as U.S. federal, state and international laws governing the protection of personally identifiable information. These laws and regulations are increasing in complexity and number. If any person, including any of our associates, negligently disregards or intentionally breaches our established controls with respect to client or employee data, or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates such data, we could be subject to significant monetary damages, regulatory enforcement actions, fines and/or criminal prosecution. In addition, unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential client or employee data, whether through system failure, employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, could damage our reputation and cause us to lose clients and related revenue. Potential liability in the event of a security breach of client data could be significant. Depending on the circumstances giving rise to the breach, this liability may not be subject to a contractual limit or an exclusion of consequential or indirect damages.

Our businesses rely extensively on data processing and communications systems. In addition to better serving clients, the effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables us to reduce costs. Adapting or developing our technology systems to meet new regulatory requirements, client needs, and competitive demands is critical for our business. Introduction of new technology presents challenges on a regular basis. There are significant technical and financial costs and risks in the development of new or enhanced applications, including the risk that we might be unable to effectively use new technologies or adapt our applications to emerging industry standards.

Our continued success depends, in part, upon our ability to: (i) successfully maintain and upgrade the capability of our technology systems on a regular basis; (ii) maintain the quality of the information contained in our data processing and communications systems; (iii) address the needs of our clients by using technology to provide products and services that satisfy their demands; and (iv) retain skilled information technology employees. Failure of our technology systems, which could result from events beyond our control, including a systems malfunction or cyber-attack, failure by a third-party service provider, or an inability to effectively upgrade those systems or implement new technology-driven products or services, could result in financial losses, liability to clients, violations of applicable privacy and other applicable laws and regulatory sanctions. See Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Risk Management” of this report for additional information regarding our exposure to and approaches for managing operational risks.

The soundness of other financial institutions and intermediaries affects us.

We face the risk of operational failure, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearing houses or other financial intermediaries that we use to facilitate our securities and derivative transactions. As a result of regulatory changes and the consolidation over the years among clearing agents, exchanges and clearing houses, our exposure to certain financial intermediaries has increased and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives should the need arise. Any failure, termination or constraint of these intermediaries could adversely affect our ability to execute transactions, service our clients and manage our exposure to risk.

Our ability to engage in routine trading and funding transactions could be affected adversely by the actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions. Financial services institutions are interrelatedinterdependent as a result of trading, clearing, funding, counterparty or other relationships. We have exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and we routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks, mutual and hedge funds and other institutional clients. Defaults by, or even rumors or questions about the financial condition of, one or more financial services institutions, or the financial services industry generally, have historically led to market-wide liquidity problems and could lead to losses or defaults by us or by other institutions. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of default of our counterparty or client. In addition, our credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure due us. Losses arising in connection with counterparty defaults may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We seek to manage, monitor and control our market, credit, operational, liquidity and legal and regulatory compliance risk through operational and compliance reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms; however, there can be no assurance that our procedures will be effective. While we use limits and other risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot always anticipate unforeseen economic and financial outcomes or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Our risk management methods may not predict future risk exposures effectively. In addition, some of our risk management methods are based on an evaluation of information regarding markets, clients and other matters that are based on assumptions that may no longer be accurate or may have limited predictive value. A failure to manage our growth adequately, including growth in the products or services we offer, or to manage our risk effectively, could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Financial services firms are subject to numerous actual or perceived conflicts of interest, which are routinely examined by U.S. federal and state regulators and SROs such as FINRA and are often used as the basis for claims for legal liability by plaintiffs in actions against us. Our risk management processes include addressing potential conflicts of interest that arise in our business. Management of potential

We continue to experience pricing pressures on trading margins and commissions in fixed income and equity trading. In the fixed income market, regulatory requirements have resulted in greater price transparency, leading to price competition and decreased trading margins. In the equity market, we experience pricing pressure from institutional clients to reduce commissions, partially due to the industry trend toward the separate payment for research and execution services. Our trading margins have been further compressed by the use of electronic and direct market access trading,shift from high- to low-touch execution services, which has created additional competitive pressure. We believe that price competition and pricing pressures in these and other areas will continue as institutional investors continue to reduce the amounts they are willing to pay, including by reducing the number of brokerage firms they use, and some of our competitors seek to obtain market share by reducing fees, commissions or margins.

We face intense competition.

We are engaged in intensely competitive businesses. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including the quality of our financial advisors and associates, our products and services, pricing (such as execution pricing and fee levels), and location and reputation in relevant markets. Over time, there has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry, which has significantly increased the capital base and geographic reach of our competitors. See the section titled “Competition” of Item“Item 1 - Business - Competition” of this reportForm 10-K for additional information about our competitors.

We compete directly with other national full service broker-dealers, investment banking firms, and commercial banks, and investment advisors, and to a lesser extent, with discount brokers and dealers and investment advisors.dealers. In addition, we face competition from more recent entrants into the market, including financial technology companies, and increased use of alternative sales channels by other firms. For example, recently several commercial firms and other non-traditional competitors have applied for banking licenses or have entered into partnerships with banks to provide banking services. We also compete indirectly for investment assets with insurance companies, real estate firms and hedge funds, among others. This competition could cause our business to suffer.

To remain competitive, our future success also depends in part on our ability to develop and enhance our products and services. The inability to develop new products and services, or enhance existing offerings, could have a material adverse effect on our profitability. In addition, we may incur substantial expenditures to keep pace with the constant changes and enhancements being made in technology.

Our ability to developrecruit, serve and retain our clients depends on the reputation, judgment, leadership, business generation capabilities and client service skills of our seniorclient-serving professionals, members of our executive committees, as well as

employees who support revenue-generating professionals and financial advisors.their clients. To compete effectively we must attract, retaindevelop, and motivateretain qualified professionals, including successful financial advisors, investment bankers, trading professionals, portfolio managers and other revenue-producing or specialized personnel. Competitive pressures we experience could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Turnover in the financial services industry is high. The cost of recruiting and retaining skilled professionals in the financial services industry has escalated considerably.is considerable. Financial industry employers are increasingly offering guaranteed contracts, upfront payments, and increased compensation. These can be important factors in a current employee’sassociate’s decision to leave us as well as in a prospective employee’sassociate’s decision to join us. As competition for skilled professionals in the industry remains intense, we may have to devote significant resources to attract and retain qualified personnel. To the extent we have compensation targets, we may not be able to retain our employees,associates, which could result in increased recruiting expense or result in our recruiting additional employeesassociates at compensation levels that are not within our target range. In particular, our financial results may be adversely affected by the costs we incur in

Moreover, companies in our industry whose employees accept positions with competitors frequently claim that those competitors have engaged in unfair hiring practices. We have been subject to several such claims and may be subject to additional claims in the future as we seek to hire qualified personnel, some of whom may work for our competitors. Some of these claims may result in material litigation. We could incur substantial costs in defending against these claims, regardless of their merits. Such claims could also discourage potential employeesassociates who work for our competitors from joining us. Certain of our competitors have withdrawn fromWe participate in the Protocol for Broker Recruiting (“Protocol”), a voluntary agreement among over 1,800many firms in the industry that governs, among other things, the client information that financial advisors may take with them when they affiliate with a new firm. The ability to bring such customer data to a new broker-dealer generally means that the clients of the financial advisor is better ableare more likely to move client account balanceschoose to his or heropen accounts at the advisor’s new firm.  ItParticipation is voluntary and it is possible that othercertain of our competitors will similarly withdraw from the Protocol. If the broker-dealers from whom we recruit new financial advisors prevent, or significantly limit, the transfer of client data, our recruiting efforts may be adversely affected and we could continue to experience claims against us relating to our recruiting efforts.

If our credit ratings were downgraded, or if rating agencies indicate that a downgrade may occur, our business, financial position, and results of operations could be adversely affected, perceptions of our financial strength could be damaged, and as a result, adversely affect our client relationships. Such a change in our credit ratings could also adversely affect our liquidity and competitive position, increase our borrowing costs, limit our access to the capital markets, trigger obligations under certain financial agreements, or decrease the number of investors, clients and counterparties willing or permitted to do business with or lend to us, thereby curtailing our business operations and reducing profitability.

We may not be able to obtain additional outside financing to fund our operations on favorable terms, or at all. The impact of a credit rating downgrade to a level below investment grade would result in our breaching provisions in certain of our derivative instruments, and may result in a request for immediate payment and/or ongoing overnight collateralization on our derivative instruments in liability positions. A credit rating downgrade would also result in the firm incurring a higher facility fee on its $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility agreement (the “Credit Facility”), in addition to triggering a higher interest rate applicable to any borrowings outstanding on the line as of and subsequent to such downgrade (see Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for information on the Credit Facility).

We continue to grow, including through acquisitions and through our recruiting efforts. Integrating acquired businesses, providing a platform for new businesses and partnering with other firms involve risks and present financial, managerial and operational challenges. We may incur significant expense in connection with expanding our existing businesses, recruiting financial advisors or making strategic acquisitions or investments, or making investments in our control functions such as compliance and supervision.investments. Our overall profitability would be negatively affected if investments and expenses associated with such growth are not matched or exceeded by the revenues derived from such investments or growth.

Expansion may also create a need for additional compliance, documentation, risk management and internal control procedures, and often involves hiring additional personnel to address these procedures. To the extent such procedures are not adequate or not adhered to with respect to our expanded business or any new business, we could be exposed to a material loss or regulatory sanction.

Moreover, to the extent we pursue acquisitions, we may be unable to complete such acquisitions on acceptable terms. We may be unable to integrate any acquired business into our existing business successfully. Difficulties we may encounter in integrating an acquired business could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, we may need to raise capital or borrow funds in order to finance an acquisition, which could result in dilution or increased leverage. We may not be able to obtain financing on favorable terms or perhaps at all.

There is a risk that our associates could engage in misconduct that adversely affects our business. For example, our investment banking business often requires that we deal with confidential matters of great significance to our clients. Our employeesassociates interact with clients, customers and counterparties on an ongoing basis. All employeesassociates are expected to exhibit the behaviors and ethics that are reflected in our framework of principles, policies and technology to protect both our own information as well as that of our clients. It is not possibleAssociate conduct on non–business matters, such as social issues, could be inconsistent with the Company’s policies and ethics and result in reputational harm to deterour business as a result of their employment or prevent every instance of associate misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity will likely not be effective in all cases.affiliation. If our associates improperly use or disclose confidential information provided by our clients, we could be subject to future regulatory sanctions and suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position, current client relationships and ability to attract future clients. We are also subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from our asset management business and our authority over our assets under management. In addition, our financial advisors may act in a fiduciary capacity, providing financial planning, investment advice and discretionary asset management. The violation of these obligations and standards by any of our associates would adversely affect our clients and us. It is not always possible to deter or prevent every instance of associate misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective.effective in all cases. If our associates engage in misconduct, our business would be adversely affected.

We are exposed to litigation risks, which could materially and adversely impact our business operations and prospects.

Many aspects of our business involve substantial risk of liability. We have been named as a defendant or co-defendant in lawsuits and arbitrations primarily involving claims for damages. The risks associated with potential litigation often may be difficult to assess or quantify and the existence and magnitude of potential claims often remain unknown for substantial periods of time. Unauthorized or illegal acts of our associates could also result in substantial liability.

In challenging market conditions, the volume of claims and amount of damages sought in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions hashave historically increased. Litigation risks include potential liability under securities laws or other laws for: alleged materially false or misleading statements made in connection with securities offerings and other transactions; issues related to our investment recommendations, including the suitability of such recommendations or potential concentration of investments; the inability to sell or redeem securities in a timely manner during adverse market conditions; contractual issues; employment claims; and potential liability for other advice we provide to participants in strategic transactions. Substantial legal liability could have a material adverse financial impact or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business and future business prospects. In addition to the foregoing financial costs and risks associated with potential liability, the costs of defending individual litigation and claims continue to increase over time. The amount of outsidethird-party attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the defense of litigation and claims could be substantial and might materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses duringfor the reporting period. Such estimates and assumptions may require management to make difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. One of our most critical estimates is RJ Bank’s allowance for loan losses. At any given point in time, conditions in real estate and credit markets may increase the complexity and uncertainty involved in estimating the losses inherent in RJ Bank’s loan portfolio. If management’s underlying

assumptions and judgments prove to be inaccurate, the allowance for loan losses could be insufficient to cover actual losses. Our financial condition, including our liquidity and capital, and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.

Our financial instruments, including certain trading assets and liabilities, derivatives, available-for-sale securities, certain loans and investments, among other items, require management to make a determination of their fair value in order to prepare our consolidated financial statements. Where quoted market prices are not available, we may make fair value determinations based on internally developed models or other means, which ultimately rely to some degree on our subjective judgment. Some of these instruments and other assets and liabilities may have no directly observable inputs, making their valuation particularly subjective and, consequently, based on estimation and judgment. In addition, sudden illiquidity in markets or declines in prices of certain securities may make it more difficult to value certain items, which may lead to the possibility that such valuations will be subject to further change or adjustment, as well as declines in our earnings in subsequent periods.

Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) and the SEC have at times revised the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. In addition, accounting standard setters and those who interpret the accounting standards may change or even reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. These changes can be hard to predict and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in our restating prior periodprior-period financial statements.

Certain of our principal operations are located in St. Petersburg, Florida. While we have a business continuity plan that also permits significant operations to be conducted out of remote locations as well as our Southfield, Michigan and Memphis, Tennessee locationscorporate offices and our information systems processing to be conducted out of our information technology data center in the Denver, Colorado area, our operations could be adversely affected by hurricanes or other serious weather conditions that could affect the processing of transactions, communications, and the ability of our associates to get to our offices, or work from home. In addition, since activating certain aspects of our business continuity plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow nearly all of our associates to work remotely, our associates’ ability to relocate to a secondary location in the event of a power outage or other disruption is limited due to the pandemic. As previously discussed,mentioned, weather events could also adversely impact certain loans within RJ Bank’s portfolio. Refer to Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Risk management” of this Form 10-K for a discussion of our operational risk management.

Our operations and financial results are subject to risks and uncertainties related to our use of a combination of insurance, self-insured retention and self-insurance for a number of risks. We have elected to self-insure our workers compensation, errors and omissions liability and

our employee-related health care benefit plans. We have self-insured retention risk related to our property and casualty, workers compensation and general liability benefit plans.

While we endeavor to purchase insurance coverage appropriate to our risk assessment, we are unable to predict with certainty the frequency, nature or magnitude of claims for direct or consequential damages. Our business may be negatively affected if our insurance proves to be inadequate or unavailable. In addition, claims associated with risks we have retained either through our self-insurance retention or by self-insuring may exceed our recorded reserves which could negatively impact future earnings. Insurance claims may divert management resources away from operating our business.

Over the last several years, financialFinancial services firms have been operatingoperate in an evolving regulatory environment. The industry has experienced an extended period of significant change in laws and regulations governing the financial services industry, as well as increaseda high degree of scrutiny from various regulators, including the SEC, the Fed, the OCC and the CFPB, in addition to stock exchanges, FINRA and state attorneys general. For example, the Dodd-Frank Act resulted in sweeping changes to the regulatory regime, including a significant increase in the supervision and regulation of the financial services industry. Penalties and fines imposed by regulatory authorities have increased substantiallybeen substantial in recent years. We may be adversely affected by changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws, rules and regulations.

There is also increased regulatory scrutiny (and related compliance costs) as we continue to grow and surpass certain consolidated asset thresholds established under the Dodd-Frank Act, which have the effect of imposing enhanced standards and requirements on larger institutions. These include, but are not limited to, RJ Bank’s oversight by the CFPB. Any action taken by the CFPB could result in requirements to alter or cease offering affected products and services, make such products and services less attractive, impose additional compliance measures, or result in fines, penalties or required remediation.

We are also required to comply with the Volcker Rule’s provisions. Although we have not historically engaged in significant levels of proprietary trading, due to our underwriting and market-makingtrading activities and our investments in covered funds, we have experienced and expect to continue to experience increased operational and compliance costs and changes to our private equity investments. Any changes to regulations or changes to the supervisory approach may also result in increased compliance costs to the extent we are required to modify our existing compliance policies, procedures and practices.

Broker-dealers and investment advisors are subject to regulations covering all aspects of the securities business, including, but not limited to: sales and trading methods; trade practices among broker-dealers; use and safekeeping of clients’ funds and securities; capital structure of securities firms; anti-money laundering efforts; recordkeeping; and the conduct of directors, officers and employees. Any violation of these laws or regulations could subject us to the following events, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects: civil and criminal liability; sanctions, which could include the revocation of our subsidiaries’ registrations as investment advisors or broker-dealers; the revocation of the licenses of our financial advisors; censures; fines; or a temporary suspension or permanent bar from conducting business.

The majority of our affiliated financial advisors are independent contractors. Legislative or regulatory action that redefines the criteria for determining whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor could materially impact our relationships with our advisors and our business, resulting in an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Regulatory actions brought against us may result in judgments, settlements, fines, penalties or other results, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. There is no assurance that regulators will be satisfied with the policies and procedures implemented by RJF and its subsidiaries. In addition, from time to time, RJF and its subsidiaries may become subject to additional findings with respect to supervisory, compliance or other regulatory deficiencies, which could subject

business lines, pay dividends on our common stock and/or engage in share repurchases. See Item“Item 1 “Regulation”- Business - Regulation” of this reportForm 10-K for additional information regarding our regulatory environment and Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Risk management” of this report regarding our approaches to managing compliance risk.environment.

In June 2019, the SEC adopted a package of rulemakings and interpretations related to the provision of advice by broker-dealers and investment advisers, including Regulation Best Interest. Among other things,Since June 30, 2020, Regulation Best Interest requires, among other things, a broker-dealer to act in the best interest of a retail customer when making a recommendation to that customer of any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities. The regulation will imposeimposes heightened standards on broker-dealers, and we anticipate incurring additionalhave incurred substantial costs in order to review and modify our policies and procedures, as well asincluding associated supervisory and compliance controls. We anticipate that we will continue to incur costs in the future to comply with the standard.

In addition to the SEC, various states have proposed,adopted, or are considering adopting, laws and regulations seeking to impose new standards of conduct on broker-dealers that, as written, differ from the SEC’s new regulations and may lead to additional implementation costs if adopted.

As some of our wholly ownedwholly-owned subsidiaries are registered as investment advisors with the SEC, increased regulatory scrutiny and rulemaking initiatives may result in additional operational and compliance costs or the assessment of significant fines or penalties against our asset management business, and may otherwise limit our ability to engage in certain activities. ItWhile it is not possible to determine the extent of the long-term impact of any new laws or regulations that have been promulgated, or initiatives that have been or may be proposed, even the short-term impact of preparing for or whether any ofimplementing changes to our infrastructure and processes could negatively impact the proposals will become law.ways we conduct business and increase our compliance and legal costs. Conformance with any new lawslaw or regulations could also make compliance more difficult and expensive and affect the manner in which we conduct business, including our product and service offerings.

In addition, U.S. and foreign governments have taken regulatory actions impacting the investment management industry, and may continue to do so including expanding current (or enacting new) standards, requirements and rules that may be applicable to us and our subsidiaries. For example, several states and municipalitiesMiFID II in the U.S. have adopted “pay-to-play” rules, which could limit our abilityE.U. requires the use of “hard dollars” for research, as opposed to charge advisory fees. Such “pay-to-play” rules could affect the profitability of that portion of our business.

New regulations regarding the management of hedge funds and the use of certain investment products, including additional recordkeeping and disclosure requirements, may also impact our asset management business and result in increased costs.

As discussed in “Item 1 - Business - Regulation” of this Form 10-K, RJF and RJ Bank are subject to various regulatory and capital requirements administered by various federal regulators in the U.S. and, accordingly, must meet specific capital guidelines that involve

quantitative measures of RJF and RJ Bank’s assets, liabilities and certain off-balance sheet items, as calculated under regulatory guidelines. The capital amounts and classification for both RJF and RJ Bank are also subject to qualitative judgments by U.S. federal regulators based on components of our capital, risk-weightings of assets, off-balance sheet transactions, and other factors. Quantitative measures established by regulation to ensure capital adequacy require RJF and RJ Bank to maintain minimum amounts and ratios of Common Equity Tier 1, Tier 1 and Total capital to risk-weighted assets, Tier 1 capital to average assets and capital conservation buffers (as defined in the regulations). Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can trigger certain mandatory (and potentially additional discretionary) actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could harm either RJF or RJ Bank’s operations and financial condition.

The Basel III regulatory capital standards impose additional capital and other requirements on us that could decrease our profitability.

The Fed, the OCC and the FDIC have implemented the global regulatory capital reforms of Basel III and certain changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act. The U.S. Basel III Rules increase the quantity and quality of regulatory capital, establish a capital conservation buffer and make selected changes to the calculation of risk-weighted assets. We became subject to the requirements under the final U.S. Basel III Rules as of January 1, 2015, subject to a phase-in period for several of its provisions, including the new minimum capital ratio requirements, the capital conservation buffer and the regulatory capital adjustments and deductions. The increased capital requirements stipulated under the U.S. Basel III Rules could restrict our ability to grow during favorable market conditions or require us to raise additional capital. As a result, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.

RJF isas a financial holding company and therefore depends on dividends, distributions and other payments from its subsidiaries in order to meet its obligations, including its debt service obligations. RJF’s subsidiaries are subject to laws and regulations that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to prevent or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to RJF. RJF’s broker-dealers and bank subsidiary are limited in their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and are subject to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as limitations on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. These requirements may hinder RJF’s ability to access funds from its subsidiaries. RJF may also become subject to a prohibition or limitations on its ability to pay dividends or repurchase its common stock. The federal banking regulators, including the OCC, the Fed and the FDIC, as well as the SEC (through FINRA) have the authority and under certain circumstances, the obligation, to limit or prohibit dividend payments and stock repurchases by the banking organizations they supervise, including RJF and its bank subsidiaries. See Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and capital resources” of this report for additional information on liquidity and how we manage our liquidity risk.

The CRA, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act and other U.S. federal fair lending laws and regulations impose nondiscriminatory lending requirements on financial institutions. The U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies, including the CFPB, are responsible for enforcing these laws and regulations. An unfavorable CRA rating or a successful challenge to an institution’s performance under the fair lending laws and regulations could result in a wide variety of sanctions, including the required

As discussed in “Item 1 - Business - Regulation” of this Form 10-K, certain amendments to the CRA regulations are currently being evaluated by regulators.have not yet been finalized. These developments create further uncertainty for RJ Bank and others in planning their CRA activities. Any revisions to the final regulations that implement the CRA may negatively impact our business, including through increased costs related to compliance.

Not applicable.

We operate our business from our principal location in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1.25 million square feet of office space that we own in the Carillon Office Park, a 1.25 million square foot office park that we own. Additionally, we own approximately 65 acres of land located in Pasco County, Florida for future development and occupancy as needed.Park. We conduct certain operations from our owned facility in Southfield, Michigan, comprising approximately 90,000 square feet, and operate a 40,000 square foot information technology data center on land we own in the Denver, Colorado area. Generally, our owned locations and principal leases, identified below, support all of our business segments.

We lease the premises we occupy in other U.S. and foreign locations, including employee-based branch office operations. Leases for branch offices for independent contractors are the responsibility of the respective independent contractor financial advisors and are not included in the amounts listed below. Our leases contain various expiration dates through fiscal year 2031.2032. Our principal leases are in the following locations:

Additionally, we own approximately 65 acres of land located in Pasco County, Florida for potential development, as needed. We regularly monitor the facilities owned or occupied by our company to ensure that they suit our needs. To the extent that they do not meet our needs, we expand, contract or relocate, as necessary.

See Note 172 and Note 12 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for information regarding our lease obligations.

In addition to any matters that may be specifically described in the following sections, in the normal course of our business, we have been named, from time to time, as a defendant in various legal actions, including arbitrations, class actions and other litigation, arising in connection with our activities as a diversified financial services institution.

RJF and certain of its subsidiaries are subject to regular reviews and inspections by regulatory authorities and self-regulatory organizations. Reviews can result in the imposition of sanctions for regulatory violations, ranging from non-monetary censures to fines and, in serious cases, temporary or permanent suspension from conducting business, or limitations on certain business activities. In addition, regulatory agencies and self-regulatory organizations institute investigations from time to time, among other things, into industry practices, which can also result in the imposition of such sanctions.

We may contest liability and/or the amount of damages, as appropriate, in each pending matter. Over the last several years, the level of litigation and investigatory activity (both formal and informal) by government and self-regulatory agencies has increased significantly in the financial services industry.industry continues to be significant. There can be no assurance that material losses will not be incurred from claims that have not yet been asserted or are not yet determined to be material.

For many legal and regulatory matters, we are unable to estimate a range of reasonably possible loss as we cannot predict if, how or when such proceedings or investigations will be resolved or what the eventual settlement, fine, penalty or other relief, if any, may be. A large number of factors may contribute to this inherent unpredictability: the proceeding is in its early stages; the damages sought are unspecified, unsupported or uncertain; it is unclear whether a case brought as a class action will be allowed to proceed on that basis;

We may from time to time include in any descriptions of individual matters herein certain quantitative information about the plaintiff’s claim against us as alleged in the plaintiff’s pleadings or other public filings. Although this information may provide insight into the potential magnitude of a matter, it does not represent our estimate of reasonably possible loss or our judgment as to any currently appropriate accrual related thereto.

See Note 17 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding legal and regulatory matter contingencies, and refer to Item“Item 7 “Management’s- Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Critical accounting estimates” in the section “Loss provisions for legal and regulatory matters” of this report and Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for information on our criteria for establishing accruals.

PART II

Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “RJF.” As of November 25, 2019,19, 2020, we had 335323 holders of record of our common stock. Shares of our common stock are held by a substantially greater number of beneficial owners, whose shares are held of record by banks, brokers, and other financial institutions.

See Note 22 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for information regarding our intentions for paying cash dividends and the related capital restrictions.

Information related to our compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance is presented in Note 21 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and Part III, Item 12 of this Form 10-K.

We did not have any sales of unregistered securities for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, 2019 2018 or 2017.2018.