How is Raymond James preparing its advisors and staff for AI?
Raymond James is training its whole workforce to use AI and arguing that AI is how the industry avoids running out of advisors. Its AI Academy, launched at the Elevate conference in May 2026 as part of the Tech Savvy program, offers virtual training and workshops on prompting, agent productivity and Microsoft 365 integrations; nearly 20,000 people had completed its four courses by July 2026. Chief AI Officer Stuart Feld said in January 2026 that more than 10,000 associates use conversational AI regularly and that AI generates about 3.2 million lines of code a month under developer supervision. CEO Paul Shoukry cites McKinsey's estimate of a 100,000-advisor shortfall by 2034 and says 'to solve that shortage, we need the AI solutions'; his line on jobs is that 'advisors who use AI will replace advisors who do not use AI'. The AI talent bench is led by Feld, head of AI strategy David Solganik and chief architect Seth Ford, with Carillon Labs as the in-house AI research team. The firm has not published AI headcount, training hours or AI-related job reductions.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Data as of Oct 16, 2026 · Raymond James profile updated Oct 13, 2026 · 27 sources cited on this page · 140 banks profiled on this site · Markdown
What AI training and adoption numbers has Raymond James reported?
Programs and figures as the firm and its executives have reported them.
| Item | What it is | Date |
|---|---|---|
| AI Academy | Part of the Tech Savvy education program; virtual training and workshops on AI prompting, agent productivity and Microsoft 365 integrations | May 2026[1][2] |
| AI Academy completions | Nearly 20,000 people through the four-course academy | July 22, 2026[3] |
| Regular conversational-AI users | More than 10,000 associates | January 27, 2026[4][9] |
| AI-generated code | About 3.2 million lines a month, created by AI under developer supervision | January 27, 2026[4][10] |
| Raimond users | 6,500 unique users after the June 15, 2026 enterprise rollout; 99.5% satisfaction | July 22, 2026[3] |
| Newer advisors | Technology budget spent 'in part to ensure the strategic application of artificial intelligence', with emphasis on encouraging newer advisors to use it; Advisor Mastery Program runs 24 months | April 30, 2025[11] |
| Board education | Director education sessions have covered advances in artificial intelligence | January 7, 2026[12] |
Who are Raymond James' AI and technology leaders?
| Name | Role | Background on the record |
|---|---|---|
| Stuart Feld | Chief AI Officer (since February 2025); head of front-office technology; leads Carillon Labs | Joined in 2018; previously a managing director at JPMorgan and UBS and divisional CIO at Prudential Financial[8][13] |
| David Solganik | Head of AI Strategy (since September 2025), reporting to Feld | Joined from RBC Wealth Management, where he led U.S. wealth management AI and data work for three years; earlier at Morgan Stanley and MetLife[6][14] |
| Seth Ford | SVP, Chief Architect (since June 2026); chairs the Technology Review Board | Formerly Chief Architect and Head of Agentic Digital Products at Vanguard[7][15] |
| Carillon Labs team | In-house AI and emerging-technology research group, created in 2019 | Five of its technologists are named inventors on the firm's 2024 machine-learning-as-a-service patent application[16][17] |
What has Raymond James said about AI and jobs?
Shoukry told investors in March 2026 that McKinsey estimates a shortage of roughly 100,000 advisors by 2034 and that 'to solve that shortage, we need the AI solutions, which is why we're investing over $1 billion in technology'.[5]
On the July 2026 call he said: 'AI will not replace advisors. Advisors who use AI will replace advisors who do not use AI.' Private Client Group president Tash Elwyn says the most important thing AI gives advisors is 'more capacity to engage human-to-human'.[3][18]
What does the Raymond James profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the Raymond James AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 13, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 31 dated moves, 16 use cases and 46 sources.
| Use case | What the record shows | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rai operations agent | Interactive gen-AI Q&A over firm systems and policies for advisors and associates. | In production | [9] |
| Zoom AI Companion meeting summaries | Firmwide for advisors and institutional businesses. | In production | [19] |
| Predictive machine learning in Advisor Access | Data-driven client insights for advisors. | In production | [19] |
| AI-assisted software development | Roughly 3.2 million lines of code a month generated by AI systems under developer oversight, per Chief AI Officer Feld (January 2026). | In production | [10] |
| AI Academy for advisors and associates | A four-course programme; nearly 20,000 completions by July 2026. | In production | [3] |
| Conquest Strategic Advice Manager (Canada) | AI-powered financial-planning platform for Raymond James Ltd. advisors and planners. | In production | [20] |
| Chief AI officer and AI strategy office | Cross-business identification of analytics, ML and gen-AI opportunities. | In production | [6] |
| Expanded AWS data and analytics collaboration | AWS performance optimization work to strengthen the enterprise data platform behind advisor-facing applications, business intelligence and 'emerging AI capabilities.' | Announced | [21] |
| Anthropic Claude on AWS behind the advisor AI tools | CIO Zolper said the platforms were built with AWS and use Anthropic's Claude for language modelling for now, with the firm open to other providers. | In production | [22] |
| Raimond: from answering questions to performing tasks | 600 advisors and 1,400 home-office staff pilot the agent; the stated aim within six to 12 months is to let it carry out actions such as opening a trust account, introduced cautiously so advisors stay comfortable. | Announced | [22] |
| Model governance gate before production | Per the firm, no AI innovation moves from Carillon Labs into production until model governance teams have tested and reviewed it; Seth Ford now chairs a Technology Review Board that guides technology decisions and manages risk. | In production | [16][7] |
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 21, 2026 | Expanded AWS collaboration to advance AI-powered advisor insights | Building on more than a decade of AWS investment, the firm announced AWS performance optimization work intended to 'accelerate the next generation of AI-powered insights and experiences for financial advisors and their clients,' per CIO Andy Zolper, strengthening the enterprise data and analytics foundation behind advisor-facing applications, business intelligence and emerging AI capabilities. | [21] |
| Aug 19, 2026 | AI worries reach advisor-recruiting economics | American Banker links analysts' AI-disruption concerns to rising transition deals; Raymond James' outstanding recruiting-loan balance rose 22% to $1.67 billion in 2025. | [23] |
| Jul 22, 2026 | Q3 call: 99.5% satisfaction with Rai; AI Academy | Nearly 20,000 people completed the four-course AI Academy; the CEO says AI will not replace advisors, but advisors who use it will replace those who do not. | [3] |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Seth Ford hired as chief architect to lead AI-ready architecture | Formerly Chief Architect and Head of Agentic Digital Products at Vanguard; he chairs the Technology Review Board and does not report to Feld, though both sit under the CIO's organisation. | [7][15] |
| May 27, 2026 | Investor day: 'AI Scaling and Automation' on the roadmap | The deck presents AI as 'an enabler of the Advisor-Client relationship' across back, middle and front office, built on proprietary enterprise data platforms. | [24] |
| May 4, 2026 | Elevate: Client 360 and AI Academy launched; Rai renamed Raimond | Client 360 tripled engagement with the Opportunities app. Zolper said 600 advisors and 1,400 home-office staff pilot Raimond, which should move from answering questions to performing tasks over six to 12 months, and that the AWS-built platforms use Anthropic's Claude for now. | [1][22][2] |
| Apr 22, 2026 | Q2 call: Rai piloted with a few hundred advisors; agentic AI next | Technology spend now more than $1.1 billion a year; the CEO calls margin estimates from AI 'too preliminary' and names agentic AI as the next phase. | [25] |
| Mar 4, 2026 | Investor conference: AI as the answer to the advisor shortage | Shoukry cites McKinsey's estimate of a 100,000-advisor shortfall by 2034, says Rai was built from transcripts of service calls, and plans to extend it to all businesses; the firm is building AI internally and partnering with vendors for specialist tools. | [5] |
| Jan 27, 2026 | Rai, proprietary gen-AI operations agent, launched | Natural-language answers to operational questions across firm knowledge bases. In launch coverage Feld said more than 10,000 associates regularly use conversational AI and roughly 3.2 million lines of code a month are generated by AI under developer oversight, and called the rollout 'the first of several phases'. | [9][10] |
| Jan 7, 2026 | Proxy statement records board education on AI | The 2026 DEF 14A says director education sessions have covered advances in artificial intelligence alongside data privacy and cybersecurity. | [12] |
| Oct 22, 2025 | Fiscal 2025: about $1 billion of technology including AI | The year-end release says the firm created the new positions of chief AI officer and head of AI strategy; on the call the CEO said it is budgeting for a significant increase in AI expenses. | [26][27] |
| Sep 8, 2025 | Head of AI strategy hired to report to the chief AI officer | Solganik reports to Feld; $975 million technology budget cited. | [6] |
What is the Raymond James AI Academy?
A training program for advisors and associates launched in May 2026 at the firm's Elevate conference, as part of its Tech Savvy education offering. It provides virtual training and workshops on AI prompting, agent productivity and Microsoft 365 integrations. CEO Paul Shoukry said in July 2026 that nearly 20,000 people had completed its four courses.
How many Raymond James employees use AI?
Chief AI Officer Stuart Feld said in January 2026 that more than 10,000 associates regularly use the firm's conversational AI tools. After its June 2026 enterprise rollout, the Raimond operations agent reached 6,500 unique users. AI also generates about 3.2 million lines of code a month under developer supervision.
Will AI replace Raymond James advisors?
The firm says no. CEO Paul Shoukry said in July 2026 that AI will not replace advisors but that advisors who use AI will replace those who do not, and he argues AI is needed to address a McKinsey-estimated shortage of about 100,000 advisors by 2034. No AI-related job cuts have been announced.
What is Carillon Labs?
Raymond James' in-house research and development team for artificial intelligence and emerging technology, created in 2019 and led by Chief AI Officer Stuart Feld. It tests machine learning for uses such as electronic-communications review, and five of its technologists are named inventors on a 2024 patent application for machine-learning models as a service.
- Raymond James announces new technology innovations to enhance advisor service and the client experience
- Raymond James launches AI Academy, extends its advisor tech push
- Raymond James Financial Q3 Earnings Call Highlights
- Raymond James launches AI operations agent to enhance service
- AI will help solve the advisor shortage: Raymond James CEO Paul Shoukry
- Raymond James Hires David Solganik as Head of AI Strategy
- Raymond James appoints Chief Architect to bolster enterprise technology and AI strategy
- Stuart Feld, Chief AI Officer, Raymond James (Advise AI speaker profile)
- Raymond James launches proprietary digital AI agent to bolster operational excellence
- Raymond James rolls out proprietary AI operations agent
- Paving the way in more ways than one
- Raymond James Financial 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A)
- Raymond James Financial appoints chief artificial intelligence officer to drive innovation and AI business solutions
- People Moves: AssetMarket Hires Growth Lead; Raymond James Names AI Strategist
- Raymond James taps Vanguard's chief architect to drive AI strategy
- Prudently approaching AI possibilities
- US 2025/0315611 A1: Automated validation and deployment of machine learning models as a service (Raymond James Financial; filed 2024-04-09)
- FA Magazine March/April 2026, page 28 (Tash Elwyn on Zoom AI and RAI)
- Raymond James expands service-focused technology investment with Zoom AI Companion meeting summaries
- Raymond James and Conquest Planning Join Forces to Empower Canadian Investors with Personalized Advice
- Raymond James strengthens data and analytics capabilities to advance AI-powered advisor insights
- Raymond James Announces Client 360 Platform, AI Advisor Academy
- With deal costs up, could AI make recruiting a bad bet?
- Raymond James Financial 2026 Analyst & Investor Day presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Raymond James (RJF) Q2 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Raymond James Financial Reports Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2025 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Raymond James Financial Inc (RJF) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Client Assets
When Raymond James moves on AI, you'll read it here first.
when one of the banks we cover moves on AI, it is in the next morning's brief · six sourced stories · 7 am ET · free
plus every tracker, bank and agent page update, the morning after · leave any morning