The Time is Now

A warm welcome to Las Vegas and the 2011 Raymond James Financial Services National Conference for Professional Development.

We chose "The Time is Now" as the theme for this year's conference because of its great relevance to advisors and how they do business here in 2011. And just as importantly, it suggests opportunity.

With the leading edge of the Baby Boomer generation now hitting retirement age, the time is now for advisors and their Boomer clients to take action to ensure a lasting income through retirement while wisely protecting and spending down assets.

It's also time to embrace a new era of fiduciary responsibility. All the signs point to ever-loftier standards for engaging and handling clients. Advisors who accept their new fiduciary responsibilities will be in the strongest position to thrive in the new environment.

Given the additional demands of new compliance and fiduciary responsibilities, the time is ripe for advisors to find ways to improve their business practices, including tools that help them work more efficiently, maximizing the time they spend helping clients and building their practices. Many RJFS advisors are already integrating those tools into their operations, putting them a step ahead of the competition.

With the recession now history, it's also time for advisors to put their practices back in growth mode, seeking out new opportunities to strengthen existing client relationships and build new ones. Don't look now, but members of Generations X and Y, all 125 million of them, are actively seeking trusted advisors who can offer solutions to help them through their working years, on through retirement.

And amid all this, it's time for Raymond James to step up and provide exactly the tools, resources and support you need to make the most of the opportunities now before you. In that regard, I'm confident that this year's conference will not disappoint.

Sincerely,

James A. Fulp
Managing Director